Meaning & use
detach
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To remove or disconnect something from the thing it is fastened or joined to.
Grammar: Takes an object: detach the cable; use detach something from something for the source.
Patterns
- detach something from something
- detach the battery
- detach a document
Detach the charger from the phone before packing it.
Please detach the form and return it by Friday.
verbintransitive
To become separated or disconnected from a fixed position.
Grammar: No object; often followed by from: the trailer detached from the van.
Patterns
- detach from something
- detach accidentally
- detach during flight
The trailer detached from the van on the steep hill.
A small panel detached when the case hit the floor.
verbtransitive or intransitivefigurative
To separate your feelings, attention, or involvement so you remain calm and less personally affected.
Grammar: Can take a reflexive object (detach yourself) or be used with from (detach from the argument).
Patterns
- detach yourself from something
- detach from a dispute
- detach emotionally
She learned to detach herself from office gossip.
It helps to detach emotionally when giving difficult feedback.
Word forms
| third person singular | detaches |
|---|---|
| past tense | detached |
| past participle | detached |
| -ing form | detaching |
Common combinations
- detach the cable from something
- Detach the cable from the printer before moving the desk.
- detach a file
- You can detach a file and send it separately.
- detach yourself from the outcome
- He tried to detach himself from the outcome and focus on the work.
- become emotionally detached
- Nurses must care without becoming emotionally detached.
Synonyms and how they differ
- separate
- General word for parting things; detach often implies undoing a fastening.
- disconnect
- Best for plugs, wires, links, or supply; detach is broader for parts.
- unfasten
- Emphasizes loosening clips, buttons, straps, or connectors.
- distance
- Used for emotional or intellectual separation, not physical objects.
Opposites
Word family
- detached adjective
- Separate, not joined, or emotionally objective: a detached garage.
- detachment noun
- Separation; also calm lack of personal involvement.
- detachable adjective
- Able to be removed: a detachable hood.
Commonly confused: detach or detract? detach or delete?
detach vs detract
Detach means remove; detract means take away from value or quality.
detach vs delete
Delete means erase data or text; detach means separate a part or connection.
Practice
Choose the correct completion: “Before cleaning the fan, _____ the plug _____ the socket.”
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a verb meaning remove plus from for the source: detach the plug from the socket. Attach reverses the meaning, detract means reduce value, and delete fits files, not plugs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “detach”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.