audience
Americannoun
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the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert.
The audience was respectful of the speaker's opinion.
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the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public.
Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.
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a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following.
Every art form has its audience.
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opportunity to be heard; chance to speak to or before a person or group; a hearing.
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a formal interview with a sovereign, high officer of government, or other high-ranking person.
an audience with the pope.
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the act of hearing, or attending to, words or sounds.
noun
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a group of spectators or listeners, esp at a public event such as a concert or play
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the people reached by a book, film, or radio or television programme
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the devotees or followers of a public entertainer, lecturer, etc; regular public
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an opportunity to put one's point of view, such as a formal interview with a monarch or head of state
Grammar
See collective noun.
Other Word Forms
- proaudience adjective
Etymology
Origin of audience
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin audientia “act of listening, group of listeners,” from audient-, stem of audiēns “hearing” (present participle of audīre “to hear”) + -ia -ia ( def. )
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.
He doesn’t tell his audience what to think but challenges them to think harder.
From Los Angeles Times
The festival is offering a space to do these shows, but also for an audience to have the night out and trust that the show is not going to injure you.”
From Los Angeles Times
It’s been only a couple of months since the death of Catherine O’Hara, your “Schitt’s Creek” co-star, and audiences are still missing her tremendously.
From Los Angeles Times
"I'm well aware that sometimes Europe can be seen as a continent that is slower than others," Macron told an audience of Japanese business leaders and investors in Tokyo.
From Barron's
Nesbitt’s ability to quell the fears will be a test of his funds’—and the industry’s—future with a mass audience.
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.
