Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - attack

~1 n 1 »VIOLENCE AGAINST SB« an act of deliberately using violence against someone + on  (There have been several attacks on foreigners recently.) 2 »IN A WAR« the act of using weapons against an enemy in a war  (The attack began at dawn.) + on  (a carefully planned attack on Iraqi air bases) be/come under attack  (Once again we came under attack from enemy fighter planes. | launch an attack (=start an attack)) 3 »CRITICISM« a statement that criticizes someone strongly + on  (recent attacks on the Prime Minister) be/come under attack (=be strongly criticized)  (The company came under attack for the firing of 50 employees. | go on the attack (=start to criticize someone severely)) 4 »ACTIONS TO STOP STH« actions intended to get rid of or stop something such as a system, a set of laws etc + on  (Mrs Thatcher's attack on the welfare state) 5 »ILLNESS« a sudden short period of suffering from an illness, especially an illness that you have often  (an attack of asthma) 6 »SPORT« a) an attempt by a group of players to make a goal (2) b) the group of players on a team whose job is to make a goal (2)  (the Arsenal attack) 7 an attack of fear/panic/anxiety etc a short period of time when you feel frightened, worried etc  (panic attacks)  (- see also heart attack) ~2 v 1 »ATTACK SOMEONE« to deliberately use physical violence against someone  (Jim was attacked by a man in the park. | dogs trained to attack on command | attack sb with sth)  (She started attacking the burglar with a piece of wood.) 2 »IN A WAR« to start using guns, bombs etc against an enemy in a war  (The village had been attacked by the French airforce.) 3 »CRITICIZE« to criticize someone or something very strongly  (The senator made a speech attacking Clinton's healthcare program. | attack sb for sth)  (The article attacked the government for its policy on education.) 4 »SPORT« to move forward and try to make a goal (2)  (Brazil began to attack more in the second half of the match.) 5 »BEGIN DOING« to begin doing a job or dealing with a problem with determination and eagerness  (She immediately set about attacking the problem.) 6 »DISEASE« to damage part of someone's body  (a cruel disease that attacks the central nervous system)