attract

attract
[[t]ətræ̱kt[/t]]
♦♦
attracts, attracting, attracted
1) VERB If something attracts people or animals, it has features that cause them to come to it.

[V n] The Cardiff Bay project is attracting many visitors...

[V n adv/prep] Warm weather has attracted the flat fish close to shore...

[V n adv/prep] Summer attracts visitors to the countryside.

2) VERB If someone or something attracts you, they have particular qualities which cause you to like or admire them. If a particular quality attracts you to a person or thing, it is the reason why you like them.

[V n] He wasn't sure he'd got it right, although the theory attracted him by its logic...

[V n to n] What first attracted me to her was her incredible experience of life...

[V n to n] More people would be attracted to cycling if conditions were right.

3) VERB If you are attracted to someone, you are interested in them sexually.

[be V-ed to n] In spite of her hostility, she was attracted to him...

[V n] I was married to a man who had ceased to attract me.

Derived words:
attracted ADJ-GRADED v-link ADJ, usu ADJ to n

He was nice looking, but I wasn't deeply attracted to him...

Men swarmed around her, attracted by her beautiful blonde looks.

4) VERB If something attracts support, publicity, or money, it receives support, publicity, or money.

[V n] President Mwinyi said his country would also like to attract investment from private companies...

[V n] Opinion polls suggest that the two rebels have attracted a lot of sympathy.

5) VERB If one object attracts another object, it causes the second object to move towards it.

[V n to n] Anything with strong gravity attracts other things to it. [Also V n]

6) attract someone's attention → see attention

English dictionary. 2008.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • attract — at‧tract [əˈtrækt] verb [transitive] 1. to make someone want to buy something, do something, or take part in something: • Advertisements for a new headmaster attracted 120 candidates. attract somebody to something • What attracted me most to the… …   Financial and business terms

  • attract — vb Attract, allure, charm, fascinate, bewitch, enchant, captivate mean to draw another by exerting an irresistible or compelling influence over him. The same distinctions in implications and connotations are observable in the adjectival forms of… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Attract — At*tract , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Attracted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Attracting}.] [L. attractus, p. p. of attrahere; ad + trahere to draw. See {Trace}, v. t.] 1. To draw to, or cause to tend to; esp. to cause to approach, adhere, or combine; or to cause …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • attract — [ə trakt′] vt. [ME attracten < L attractus, pp. of attrahere, to draw to < ad , to + trahere, DRAW] 1. to draw to itself or oneself; make approach or adhere [magnets attract iron] 2. to get the admiration, attention, etc. of; allure [his… …   English World dictionary

  • attract — early 15c., from L. attractus, pp. of attrahere to draw, pull; to attract, from ad to (see AD (Cf. ad )) + trahere draw (see TRACT (Cf. tract) (1)). Originally a medical term for the body s tendency to absorb fluids, nourishment, etc., or for a… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Attract — At*tract , n. Attraction. [Obs.] Hudibras. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • attract — index bait (lure), coax, interest, inveigle, lure, motivate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • attract — [v] draw attention allure, appeal to, bait, beckon, beguile, bewitch, bring, captivate, charm, come on*, court, drag, draw, enchant, endear, engage, enthrall, entice, entrance, exert influence, fascinate, freak out*, give the comeon*, go over big …   New thesaurus

  • attract — ► VERB 1) draw in by offering something interesting or advantageous. 2) cause (a specified reaction). 3) (often be attracted to) cause to have a liking for or interest in. 4) draw (something) closer by exerting a force. DERIVATIVES attractor noun …   English terms dictionary

  • attract */*/*/ — UK [əˈtrækt] / US verb [transitive] Word forms attract : present tense I/you/we/they attract he/she/it attracts present participle attracting past tense attracted past participle attracted 1) a) to make someone interested in something so that… …   English dictionary

  • attract — 01. The meat they ve been putting in the garbage is starting to [attract] rats. 02. His wife is very [attractive], and always gets lots of attention from the men at parties. 03. We put a rotten fish head in the trap to [attract] the shrimp. 04.… …   Grammatical examples in English

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