Is an attack roll the d20 roll, or does it already include the modifiers?

is an attack roll the d20 roll, or does it already include the modifiers? there seems to be a lot of different opinions…. To make sure we're on the same page, I'm going to start with a question. Have you read "Attack Rolls" (PH, 194)?

— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) June 20, 2017

Yes. It looks to me that the ‘attack roll’ is the d20+modifiers, but others say that the ‘attack roll’ is the d20 roll alone, without mods. What specific game feature is prompting concern about this distinction?

— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) June 20, 2017

The difference in opinions was brought up when discussing Cutting Words, which states it is after the 'attack roll' or other choices.

— bas (@basrijpstra) June 20, 2017