detach
Americanverb (used with object)
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to unfasten and separate; disengage; disunite.
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Military. to send away (a regiment, ship, etc.) on a special mission.
verb
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to disengage and separate or remove, as by pulling; unfasten; disconnect
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military to separate (a small unit) from a larger, esp for a special assignment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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detachabilitynoun
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detachernoun
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nondetachabilitynoun
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detachableadjective
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nondetachableadjective
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self-detachingadjective
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undetachableadjective
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detachablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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detachsimple
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detachessimple
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have detachedperfect
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has detachedperfect
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am detachingprogressive
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are detachingprogressive
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is detachingprogressive
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have been detachingperfect progressive
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has been detachingperfect progressive
Past
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detachedsimple
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had detachedperfect
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was detachingprogressive
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were detachingprogressive
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had been detachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detach
1470–80; < Middle French détacher, Old French destachier; see dis- 1, attach
Explanation
If you separate one thing from another, you are detaching it. As a newborn baby, you became familiar with this concept as soon as your umbilical cord was cut! You can use the word detach to talk about physically pulling two things apart. For example, when your shirt comes back from the dry cleaner missing a few buttons, it’s safe to assume they got detached during the cleaning process. This word is easy to remember when you consider its antonym attach. Once you have attached that election pin to your lapel, you better detach it when your candidate loses!
Vocabulary lists containing detach
de-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Especially when people are laid off, the first thing many do is roll over,” said Christopher Bahnsen, an adviser in Arvada, Colo. “Emotionally, these people want to detach from that employer.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
The team was about to take her to the operating room when he was finally able to detach it.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
Images from the rover show sand spilling from the "Atacama" rock during the attempt, yet the rock still did not detach.
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
Last year, U.S. regulators recalled more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warning that the truck’s exterior panels could detach while driving.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
She looked at her son critically, trying to detach herself and see him as others might.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
