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an act of or the state of being .
a feeling that binds one to a person, thing, cause, ideal, or the like; devotion; regard:
a fond attachment to his cousin; a profound attachment to the cause of peace.
Psychology.

an emotional bond between an infant or toddler and primary caregiver, a strong bond being vital for the child’s normal behavioral and social development.
an enduring emotional bond that develops between one adult and another in an intimate relationship:
romantic attachment.

See also , .
something that attaches; a fastening or tie:
the attachments of a harness; the attachments of a pair of skis.
an additional or supplementary device:
attachments for an electric drill.
Law. seizure of property or person by legal authority, especially seizure of a defendant’s property to prevent its dissipation before trial or to acquire jurisdiction over it.
something attached, as a document added to a letter.
a computer or electronic file sent with an email.
Contemporary Examples

This is what Jake has to do, letting go of his attachment to his physical body.
The Tantric Sex in Avatar Asra Q. Nomani March 3, 2010

Sears’s followers call this progression “attachment parenting” and it seems to have something to do with attachment.
Time Magazine Cover: What About the Child? Dr. Mona Ackerman May 11, 2012

When that attachment is opened, the trojan is unleashed, giving the adversary control of the unlucky computer, Raff said.
15-Year-Old Egyptian Cyber Activist Takes on Israel Eli Lake November 20, 2012

Cook, a forager himself, spent thousands of hours with his subjects, and the text betrays his attachment to them.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Sept. 2, 2013 Damaris Colhoun September 1, 2013

Their affluence and attachment to luxury makes military service unpopular.
Nerdiness from Noah: Alpha Centauri Noah Kristula-Green March 28, 2013

Historical Examples

Their vulnerable points are the attachment of the anterior limbs, and, of course, the eyes.
The Desert World Arthur Mangin

This satisfied him, for he cared nothing for the attachment of those under his command.
Brave and Bold Horatio Alger

The whole city was in commotion, making arrangements to demonstrate their attachment to our beloved President.
Woman’s Life in Colonial Days Carl Holliday

I shall trouble you meanwhile to prevent his forming any other attachment when he comes to town.
Lady Susan Jane Austen

But the common vice of all these people is an attachment to games of chance, which they pursue with a ruinous avidity.
Oregon and Eldorado Thomas Bulfinch

noun
a means of securing; a fastening
(often foll by to) affection or regard (for); devotion (to): attachment to a person or to a cause
an object to be attached, esp a supplementary part: an attachment for an electric drill
the act of attaching or the state of being attached

the arrest of a person for disobedience to a court order
the lawful seizure of property and placing of it under control of a court
a writ authorizing such arrest or seizure

(law) the binding of a debt in the hands of a garnishee until its disposition has been decided by the court
n.

c.1400, “arrest of a person on judicial warrant” (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), from French attachement, from attacher (see attach). Application to property (including, later, wages) dates from 1590s; meaning “sympathy, devotion” is recorded from 1704; that of “something that is attached to something else” dates from 1797 and has become perhaps the most common use since the rise of e-mail.