Definition of 'detach'

Word Frequency

detach

(dɪtætʃ )

Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense detaches , present participle detaching , past tense, past participle detached

1. verb

If you detach one thing from another that it is fixed to, you remove it. If one thing detaches from another, it becomes separated from it.

[formal]

Detach the white part of the application form and keep it. [VERB noun]

It is easy to detach the currants from the stems. [VERB noun + from]

There was an accident when the towrope detached from the car. [VERB + from]

[Also VERB]

Synonyms: separate, free, remove, divide More Synonyms of detach

2. verb

If you detach yourself from something, you become less involved in it or less concerned about it than you used to be.

It helps them detach themselves from their problems and become more objective. [V pron-refl + from]

3. verb

If you detach yourself from a person or place, you leave them.

[formal]

Alexis saw his father detach himself from the group and walk away down the hill by himself. [V pron-refl from n]

More Synonyms of detach

Video: pronunciation of 'detach'

Word Frequency

detach in British

(dɪˈtætʃ )

verb (transitive)

to disengage and separate or remove, as by pulling; unfasten; disconnect

2. military

to separate (a small unit) from a larger one, esp for a special assignment

Derived forms

detachable (deˈtachable)

adjective

detachability (deˌtachaˈbility)

noun

detacher (deˈtacher)

noun

Word origin of 'detach'

C17: from Old French destachier, from des- dis-1 + attachier to attach

Word Frequency

detach in American

(diˈtætʃ ; dētachˈ; dɪˈtætʃ ; ditachˈ)

verb transitive

to unfasten or separate and remove; disconnect; disengage

to send (troops, ships, etc.) on a special mission

Derived forms

detachability (deˌtachaˈbility)

noun

detachable (deˈtachable)

adjective

Word origin of 'detach'

Fr détacher < OFr detachier, destachier < de-, de- + estachier, to attach

Example sentences containing 'detach'

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The detached house is still the dream. Times, Sunday Times (2016)The answer is detached homes in the suburbs. Times, Sunday Times (2016)We moved from our little terraced house to this big detached thing with two garages and a drive. Times, Sunday Times (2016)He then highlighted places where detached houses accounted for 70 % of the total sales. Times, Sunday Times (2016)Those same statistics also show that terrace builds have been declining and it is detached and semi-detached houses that are on the up. Times, Sunday Times (2016)The big detached houses a few streets inland on Victoria Road go for about a million. Times, Sunday Times (2016)While the average price for a detached home might be higher than the London average, you get more for your money. Times, Sunday Times (2016)The holes are still there but things do not detach neatly around them. Times, Sunday Times (2012)So look for a detached home without a stove or open fires. Times, Sunday Times (2010)It is one thing for detached scholars to set these high expectations. Larson, Reed & Richards, Maryse H. Divergent Realities: the Emotional Lives of Mothers, Fathers, and Adolescents (1994)It was originally part of a large detached property which had been converted into one semi and two flats. Times, Sunday Times (2006)The uptake of council house purchase does not reflect the working out of a detached attitude to home ownership. Forrest, Ray & Murie, Alan & Williams, Peter Home-ownership - differentiation and fragmentation (1990)Their representatives gave warning that the couple were unlikely to leave their four-bedroom detached house. Times, Sunday Times (2007)The region leads the way in both detached and semi-detached houses. Times, Sunday Times (2012)We want a detached property with off-street parking. Times, Sunday Times (2008)Or how about a semi in Durham that looks and feels like a detached property? The Sun (2013)I live in a detached house with a surfeit of stripped floorboards and a utility room. Times, Sunday Times (2007)Members are expected to socialise only with each other, live in detached houses and refrain from eating or drinking with outsiders. Times, Sunday Times (2015)I was cold, disengaged and detached. Times, Sunday Times (2011)A modern detached family home with four bedrooms will set you back about 200,000. Times, Sunday Times (2013)A detached property with an acre can hit 800,000. Times, Sunday Times (2015)Homes sell quickly and a four-bedroom detached period house typically costs about 450,000. Times, Sunday Times (2014)She said: 'He said he was detached from things. The Sun (2010)It's an odd, detached thing to do. Times, Sunday Times (2016)It's a detached three-bedroom property near the beach. Times, Sunday Times (2010)One of our current projects is to convert a couple of bungalows in south London into a five-bedroom detached property. Times, Sunday Times (2013)Well, people might prefer a detached house with a garden, but there are many out there who would love those homes. Times, Sunday Times (2011)I spent my first 18 years in the same suburban detached house in northeastern Ohio. Times, Sunday Times (2015)I have a five-bedroom detached property in Bromley. Times, Sunday Times (2008)Their dream was of an improved quality of life, centred on a detached four-bedroom house with a swimming pool within walking distance of the beach. Times, Sunday Times (2010)For a young family with relatively low borrowings, this could mean moving straight from a small urban townhouse to a detached four-bedroom with three acres. Times, Sunday Times (2008)