audience

American  

[aw-dee-uhns] / ˈɔ di əns /

noun

1. 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.

2. the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public.

   Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.

3. a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following.

   Every art form has its audience.

4. opportunity to be heard; chance to speak to or before a person or group; a hearing.

5. a formal interview with a sovereign, high officer of government, or other high-ranking person.

   an audience with the pope.

6. the act of hearing, or attending to, words or sounds.

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audience British  

/ ˈɔːdɪəns /

noun

1. a group of spectators or listeners, esp at a public event such as a concert or play

2. the people reached by a book, film, or radio or television programme

3. the devotees or followers of a public entertainer, lecturer, etc; regular public

4. an opportunity to put one's point of view, such as a formal interview with a monarch or head of state

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

Derived 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. )

Explanation

An audience can be people watching a performance, or an opportunity to speak with someone important, like an audience with your favorite actor at a "meet and greet" event. The noun audience can describe all the people watching a performance, or the part of the general public interested in a specific type of information or entertainment. For example, the audience for a show about raising children might be parents or other care-givers. Finally, an audience can be a meeting or interview, like an audience with your school's principal.

Example Sentences

There was no verbiage about how the world’s most powerful hardware company would “introduce our audience to the next generation of agentic sports-watching, bringing fans closer to the action than ever before.”

From Slate • Jun. 10, 2026

Voters have continued to flood into his campaign events, including one on Sunday in which the audience offered enthusiastic support and bypassed the opportunity to ask him about the controversies of his past.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

And I think it was interesting to try and find levels to it and to have the audience come with you, but not dramatize or exaggerate an emotion.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

He genuinely liked the material, and he liked the way we were ascending, building our audience and growing creatively and commercially.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

The audience roared, and Owen waved as they left the podium, feeling the delicious rush of performing in front of a crowd again.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Related Words

• congregation
• crowd
• gallery
• gathering
• market
• public