# attribute

/ˈætɹəbˌjut/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/attribute
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Senses

### 1. to credit a cause or author

verb · CEFR B2 · Academic

to say that a particular person wrote something or that a specific cause made something happen.

For teachers: to ascribe a work, remark, or event to a particular author, cause, or source. Transitive; typically takes the preposition 'to'.

- The museum experts attribute the unsigned painting to a famous Italian artist.
- Climate scientists attribute the recent increase in extreme weather events to the long-term warming of the oceans.

Usage: The verb is usually followed by an object and the preposition 'to'.

### 2. a quality or feature

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic · Formal

a quality or characteristic that someone or something has.

For teachers: a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

- Patience is an essential attribute for anyone working as a primary school teacher.
- The candidate's most impressive attribute is her ability to remain calm and analytical under intense public scrutiny.

Teaching tip: Remind students that the noun is stressed on the first syllable (AT-tri-bute), unlike the verb.

### 3. computing/programming

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a piece of information that describes a file or a part of a computer program.

For teachers: a specification that defines a property of an object, element, or file in computing and markup languages.

- You can change the file attribute to 'read-only' so that nobody can edit it.
- The developer added a new attribute to the HTML tag to ensure the image would scale correctly on mobile devices.

### 4. grammar

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical · Formal

a word, like an adjective, that describes a noun.

For teachers: a word or phrase that modifies a noun, typically placed immediately before or after it.

- In the phrase 'the red car', the word 'red' is an attribute of the car.
- The linguist analysed how the poet used cumulative attributes to build a vivid sense of place without using a single main verb.

## Examples

- Patience is an essential attribute for a good teacher.
- The software allows users to change the file attribute to read-only to prevent accidental changes to the data.
- While the candidate possessed the necessary technical skills, the committee felt he lacked the leadership attributes required to manage such a diverse and high-pressure department.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.