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
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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George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt
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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.
The committee heard that the problem related to "cavitation" - when bubbles detach from a propellor and pop, causing damaging vibrations.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
I suggest you detach with love and repay the $1,000 he gave you.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026
“It plays on manipulation techniques,” said Small, who has now created a guide for others who are trying to understand how large language models work and are trying to detach themselves.
From Slate • Feb. 2, 2026
They focused on crustal delamination, a process in which sections of Earth's crust become compressed, chemically altered, and dense enough to detach and sink into the mantle below.
From Science Daily • Jan. 23, 2026
As the professor turned the wheel, they saw a slender black hand, like a minute hand, detach itself from the complicated background and move around the dial with a series of clicks.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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.
