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Synonyms

attendee

American  
[uh-ten-dee, at-en-, uh-ten-dee] / ə tɛnˈdi, ˌæt ɛn-, əˈtɛn di /

noun

attendees plural
  1. a person who is present at a specific time or place.

    a conference with thousands of attendees.


attendee British  
/ əˌtɛnˈdiː /

noun

  1. a person who is present at a specified event

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of attendee

First recorded in 1935–40; attend + -ee

Explanation

An attendee is a person who shows up at an event or meeting. If you go to your family reunion every summer, you can say you're a regular attendee. Conferences, conventions, and other gatherings need to have attendees so they can proceed as planned. You might be a French club attendee at school or a regular town bike swap attendee. The original word for attendee was attender, but its meaning came to be "someone who waits on others," while attendee, as of the mid-20th century, was "someone who attends."

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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.

Attendee Rachel Speight-McGregor, 56, said she'd "already got her steps in for the morning" and called the event "a great way to start" the day.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

Attendee Rachel Yates, who said she moved to Tampa two years ago from Chicago, said she likes both Trump and DeSantis.

From Washington Times • Oct. 5, 2023

Attendee Jo Hee Kyung, who heads the Korean Animal Welfare Association, said Kim’s comments reported in the media were largely taken out of context.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2023

Attendee Cynthia Tse said it felt like she was witnessing the future of fashion at the show on Dec. 19.

From Reuters • Dec. 27, 2022

Attendee Danielle Acosta, 19, was so excited for her first VidCon that she began a countdown on her iPhone nine months ago and delayed her back surgery to later this summer.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2014

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