a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase
an offensive move in a sport or game; "they won the game with a 10-hit attack in the 9th inning"
the act of attacking; "attacks on women increased last year"; "they made an attempt on his life"
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons); "the attack began at dawn"
strong criticism; "he published an unexpected attack on my work"
the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent); "the film was sensitive to attack by acids"; "open to attack by the elements"
a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition; "an attack of diarrhea"
begin to injure; "The cancer cells are attacking his liver"; "Rust is attacking the metal"
set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task; "I attacked the problem as soon as I got out of bed"
attack in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker"
take the initiative and go on the offensive; "The Serbs attacked the village at night"; "The visiting team started to attack"
launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week"
the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group; "the function of a teacher"; "the government must do its part"; "play its role"
what something is used for; "the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?"
a formal or official social gathering or ceremony; "it was a black-tie function"
a relation such that one thing is dependent on another; "height is a function of age"; "price is a function of supply and demand"
a mathematical relation such that each element of one set is associated with at least one element of another set
perform as expected when applied; "The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in"; "Does this old car still run well?"; "This old radio doesn't work anymore"
the act of drawing spatially closer to something; "the hunter's approach scattered the geese"
a relatively short golf shot intended to put the ball onto the putting green; "he lost the hole when his approach rolled over the green"
ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation; "his approach to every problem is to draw up a list of pros and cons"; "an attack on inflation"; "his plan of attack was misguided"
a close approximation; "the nearest approach to genius"
the temporal property of becoming nearer in time; "the approach of winter"
the event of one object coming closer to another
make advances to someone, usually with a proposal or suggestion; "I was approached by the President to serve as his adviser in foreign matters"
come near in time; "Winter is approaching"; "approaching old age"
move towards; "We were approaching our destination"; "They are drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and nearer"
remove irrational quantities from; "This function can be rationalized"
think rationally; employ logic or reason; "When one wonders why one is doing certain things, one should rationalize"
structure and run according to rational or scientific principles in order to achieve desired results; "We rationalized the factory's production and raised profits"
act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining; "he congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency"; "they funded research and development"
(music) the section of a composition or movement (especially in sonata form) where the major musical themes are developed and elaborated
a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation; "recent developments in Iraq"; "what a revolting development!"
a district that has been developed to serve some purpose; "such land is practical for small park developments"
processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible; "the development and printing of his pictures took only two hours"
a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage); "the development of his ideas took many years"; "the evolution of Greek civilization"; "the slow development of her skill as a writer"
a state in which things are improving; the result of developing (as in the early part of a game of chess); "after he saw the latest development he changed his mind and became a supporter"; "in chess your should take care of your development before moving your queen"