attendance
Americannoun
-
the act of attending.
-
the persons or number of persons present.
an attendance of more than 300 veterans.
idioms
noun
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the act or state of attending
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the number of persons present
an attendance of 5000 at the festival
-
obsolete attendants collectively; retinue
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of attendance
1325–75; Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French. See attend, -ance
Explanation
Attendance has to do with being present at something, like work or school. If you never miss a day, you have perfect attendance. The concept of attendance has to do with showing up: if you show up for school, then your attendance is not in question. When people miss school or work, they usually need a note from a doctor, explaining why they weren't in attendance. We can also say "The attendance was 100" if 100 people showed up to a meeting. If only three people out of 100 showed up though, you'd say, "Wow. Attendance was terrible."
Vocabulary lists containing attendance
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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.
“We’re seeing across-the-board reduction of school attendance, substantial reduction in employees showing up to farm operations, packing sheds and in the fields. Construction has essentially come to a halt,” Arias said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Amodei also attended last week’s lunch, making Anthropic one of two companies with a pair of executives in attendance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Little-Pengelly also defended her attendance at the business engagement, after the DUP previously said it could not be "business as usual" at Stormont in response to Sinn Féin's involvement in protests on Garvaghy Road.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Previously, grad students could borrow up to the full cost of attendance as determined by the school.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Everyone—literally every kid in attendance, twenty or thirty of them—was gathered around, shouting and bidding on the goods inside.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
