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

Having already scanned his items alongside his Nectar loyalty card, he said he had waved an attendant over.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

A few minutes before the strike, the 35-year-old attendant had closed the station because of the risk of bombardment.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Maybe an American Airlines flight attendant walking the aisles with applications shortly before landing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

In Minnesota’s second district, a longtime flight attendant and state representative is running in the Aug. 11 Democratic congressional primary to replace Rep. Angie Craig, who is seeking the governorship.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

An overhead projector beamed a movie onto dummy number two, turning it into a perky woman who looked like a flight attendant.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

According to the city authorities, the 29 facilities that charge a fee do so because they employ toilet attendants.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Flight attendants reported hearing and feeling the vibrations, and seeing a small amount of smoke before the oxygen masks were deployed.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Croteau, 38, could see water engulfing the windows as attendants rushed to assist travelers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Potential tenants LaTerra is targeting include pilots, flight attendants and other people who work at the airport.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

My dayee Shahrdad got my mom on the plane in Heathrow, begged the flight attendants to look after her, and sent her on her way.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Related Words

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