attend
Americanverb (used with object)
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attends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
attended,
past participle, past
-
attending
present participle
-
to be present at.
to attend a lecture; to attend church.
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to go with as a concomitant or result; accompany.
Fever may attend a cold. Success attended her hard work.
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to take care of; minister to; devote one's services to.
The nurse attended the patient daily.
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to wait upon; accompany as a companion or servant.
The retainers attended their lord.
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to take charge of; watch over; look after; tend; guard.
to attend one's health.
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to listen to; give heed to.
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Archaic. to wait for; expect.
verb (used without object)
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attends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
attended,
past participle, past
-
attending
present participle
-
to take care or charge.
to attend to a sick person.
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to apply oneself.
to attend to one's work.
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to pay attention; listen or watch attentively; direct one's thought; pay heed.
to attend to a speaker.
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to be present.
She is a member but does not attend regularly.
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to be present and ready to give service; wait (usually followed by on orupon ).
to attend upon the Queen.
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to follow; be consequent (usually followed by on orupon ).
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Obsolete. to wait.
verb
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to be present at (an event, meeting, etc)
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to give care; minister
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to pay attention; listen
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(tr; often passive) to accompany or follow
a high temperature attended by a severe cough
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to follow as a consequence (of)
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to devote one's time; apply oneself
to attend to the garden
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(tr) to escort or accompany
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to wait (on); serve; provide for the needs (of)
to attend on a guest
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archaic (tr) to wait for; expect
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obsolete (intr) to delay
Synonym Usage
See accompany.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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attendsimple
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attendssimple
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have attendedperfect
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has attendedperfect
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am attendingprogressive
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are attendingprogressive
-
is attendingprogressive
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have been attendingperfect progressive
-
has been attendingperfect progressive
Past
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attendedsimple
-
had attendedperfect
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was attendingprogressive
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were attendingprogressive
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had been attendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of attend
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English atenden, from Anglo-French, Old French atendre, from Latin attendere “to bend to, notice,” from at- at- + tendere “to stretch, extend, proceed”; cf. tend 1
Explanation
The verb attend means to be present, to listen, or give care or attention to. You can attend your family reunion, attend to a project you've been ignoring, or attend to your teacher's voice. When you use attend as "pay attention" or "take care of," it's followed by "to." When you use attend as in "attend a party," you don't. If you attend a political rally, you'll want to attend to what the politicians have to say. When you take attendance, you are checking which students have chosen to attend class, i.e. who is in attendance.
Vocabulary lists containing attend
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Some industry officials anticipated Chinese execs would attend a state dinner alongside American tech and AI CEOs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
"There's use going on at school. That's really difficult. And, unfortunately for many of these children they are not able to attend education for various reasons."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Anderson's brother Sean also challenged the decision not to release him from Magilligan Prison to attend the funeral, but that was upheld by the same judge.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Between 2,000 and 4,000 undocumented students attend UC, which enrolls nearly 301,000 students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
People could attend Spiritualist lectures or séances without leaving their original faith.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Streatfeild’s inspiration was her sister Sterling, who was a tailback and free safety and now attends Vanderbilt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Ingrid is involved in music and theater at Quincy Village, which is part of Presbyterian Senior Living, and attends local history discussions in nearby Waynesboro, Pa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Macron's visit to London, which includes bilateral talks with Burnham on Thursday, will be rich with symbolism as the French president attends the official opening of the Bayeux showcase the previous day.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
After four or five hours of sleep, Webb attends a community-college course on semiconductor manufacturing.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
One day he attends a panel discussion about Indian novels written in English.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
“It starts attracting everybody,” he said of the forums he participated in and the speaking events he attended.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Three people who attended Votechella told The Times they saw the student appearing uncomfortable as the mayor pulled her close to him while a group photo was being taken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
More than 100 people attended a public meeting on Saturday with many raising concerns.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The record book also noted that a similar-sized crowd attended Madonna's free concert on Copacabana Beach in May 2024 during her Celebration Tour.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The mood was different from the last meeting I’d attended.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
And he was attending King Charles III’s AI summit in Scotland where he cautioned against conflating the technology of artificial intelligence with a specific AI product.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
For nine months, Sparkes kept his weekly recording sessions secret from his classmates by telling them he was attending physiotherapy for a foot injury.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
I was 11, attending an Islamic school in northern New Jersey.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "deeply regrets" Washington's decision to deny a visa for the second year running to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, a UN spokesman said Friday, preventing him for attending the UN General Assembly.
From Barron's
C.P. watched with growing discomfort as she circled the room slowly and with great dignity, as if she were an honored guest attending the opening of a show at a prestigious museum.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
