attendant

American  

[uh-ten-duhnt] / əˈtɛn dənt /

noun

• attendants
  plural

1. a person who attends another, as to perform a service.

   Synonyms:

   servant, retainer, follower, comrade, companion, escort

2. Chiefly British. an usher or clerk.

3. a corollary or concomitant thing or quality.

   Synonyms:

   consequence, accompaniment

4. a person who is present, as at a meeting.

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adjective

1. being present or in attendance; accompanying.

2. consequent; concomitant; associated; related: poverty and its attendant hardships.

   winter holidays and attendant parties; war and its attendant evils;

   poverty and its attendant hardships.

attendant British  

/ əˈtɛndənt /

noun

1. a person who accompanies or waits upon another

2. a person employed to assist, guide, or provide a service for others, esp for the general public

   a lavatory attendant

3. a person who is present

4. a logical consequence or natural accompaniment

   hatred is often an attendant of jealousy

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adjective

1. being in attendance

2. associated; accompanying; related

   attendant problems

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superattendant
  noun
• unattendant
  adjective
• attendantly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• attendants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of attendant

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, present participle of attendre “to notice, await”; see attend, -ant

Explanation

An attendant is someone present at a meeting or event. A flight attendant, for example, tends to the needs of passengers on a plane trip. The word attendant has to do with being present. An attendant on a flight is present to help you if you need anything. An attendant event is one that happens in the presence of another event. In other words, it can mean "accompanying." An illness can have attendant symptoms that go along with it. Remember that the word ends in -ant.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attendant attendants

If he can’t resist sampling it, he said, he’ll ask a flight attendant for a second one to take home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

It was so hot Nicolas Gonzalez, a fan sitting in the shade of the reserved level, saw a stadium attendant, overcome by heat, stretchered before the game even started.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

The court heard he had stopped for fuel at an unknown location where an attendant had filled up his car.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

The passenger complained about Thornton to a flight attendant and shared the photos with the crew, according to TMZ.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

This was Hermod, called the Nimble, Odin’s attendant, the fastest and the most daring of the young gods.

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

Two flight attendants reported injuries, and one was transported to a hospital for further evaluation.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

Most of the calls are quick, and flight attendants are good about asking passengers to lower the volume, Louie said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

You’d need the equivalent of those parade attendants in overalls who run along behind the horses with shovels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Every robot that faceplanted, lost a limb, or disintegrated in a spray of sparks was borne away on a stretcher by human attendants with deadpan solicitude.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

Du Barry and Elisabeth watch me cross the room as royal attendants ply the guests with wine and savory hors d'oeuvres.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• aide
• assistant
• custodian
• helper
• nurse
• servant