ataque

attack

noun ah-TAH-keh Common

Origin: From Italian attaccare (to attach, attack).

Usage Note

Ataque covers a military or physical assault, a verbal attack (un ataque verbal), and a medical episode (un ataque al corazón = heart attack). The derived verb is atacar. Do not confuse ataque with asalto, which implies robbery or ambush. The -que ending signals a hard 'k' sound before -e.

Examples

"El ejército lanzó un ataque al amanecer."

Natural Translation

The army launched an attack at dawn.

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