an attack

an attack of (some illness)

A sudden or acute onset of (an illness). I went to bed early last night after an attack of indigestion.
See also: attack, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*an attack

(of an illness) a bout of some sickness; an instance or acute case of some disease. (*Typically: have ~; produce ~; suffer ~.) Mr. Hodder had an attack of stomach upset that forced him to stay at home.
See also: attack
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • an attack of (some illness)
  • attack
  • illness
  • under attack
  • offensive
  • be on the offensive
  • go for the throat
  • within striking distance
  • (with)in striking distance
  • strike at the root of
References in classic literature
He assumed, instantly, therefore, a belligerent tone; ordered the squaws to lead the horses to a small grove of ashen trees, and unload and tie them; and caused a great bustle to be made by his scanty handful; the leaders riding hither and thither, and vociferating with all their might, as if a numerous force was getting under way for an attack.
Surrounding him on horseback, they would discharge their arrows at him in quick succession, goading him to make an attack; which, with a dexterous movement of the horse, they would easily avoid.
Adventures of Captain Bonneville USA in the Rocky Mountains and
Hold yourself in readiness in case of an attack, but do not fire without my orders."
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Still it was a ghastly sight, and one from which we were glad to escape; indeed, I never remember anything of the kind that affected me more than seeing those gallant soldiers thus put out of pain by the red-handed medicine men, except, indeed, on one occasion when, after an attack, I saw a force of Swazis burying their hopelessly wounded /alive/.
Thus adjured, after taking hasty counsel with Good and Sir Henry, I delivered my opinion briefly to the effect that, being trapped, our best chance, especially in view of the failure of our water supply, was to initiate an attack upon Twala's forces.
King Solomons Mines
I beg of you, I beg of you," he repeated, "to occupy the position and prepare for an attack."
No one said anything definite, but the rumor of an attack spread through the squadron.
"If only they would be quick!" thought Rostov, feeling that at last the time had come to experience the joy of an attack of which he had so often heard from his fellow hussars.
War and Peace
November also witnessed some significant attacks including an attack against Chinese consulate in Karachi claimed by proscribed Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) and an attack of sectarian nature claimed by Daesh.
Violence continues to escalate as militants managed to inflict more human losses
It further said that November also witnessed some significant attacks including an attack against Chinese consulate in Karachi claimed by proscribed Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) and an attack of sectarian nature claimed by Daesh.
Militant attacks claimed 63 lives in Nov: PICSS
The merits of taking the attack event as a cluster dimension are that it improved the correlation of alarms in an attack sequence, and there is no need to establish the attack model beforehand, and the alarm will not be lost because its event cannot match.
Constructing APT Attack Scenarios Based on Intrusion Kill Chain and Fuzzy Clustering
This is because an attack can often go unnoticed or unaddressed until it has already spread to other machines.
Half Of All Organizations Hit By Ransomware Suffer Multiple Attacks
On average companies experienced twenty-seven attacks per hour, or an attack every two minutes.
Web applications under attack every two minutes
The report, Maritime and Terrorism: Risk and Liability, says cruise ships and ferry lines need more protection against terrorism attacks because they meet terrorists' prerequisites for an attack: The damage would be highly visible, would kill many people, would destroy costly property and would interrupt trade.
Counterterrorism should focus on cruise ships