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What were the large working-class audiences at 17th-century theaters called?

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audience

American  

[aw-dee-uhns] / ˈɔ di əns /

noun

• audiences
  plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• audiences
  plural

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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. )

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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

See Examples For:

audience audiences

"The challenge broadcasters are finding is that they are not sure who the audience is," she says.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

“You can’t replace the experience of going through a play with someone together, whether you’re an audience member or the artist, of experiencing from Shakespeare’s stories to beyond,” Rosoff said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

No one understands their audience better than she does, knowing comedy relies as much on observation as on good, old-fashioned slapstick.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

The event promises glamour -- replete with champagne-quaffing celebrities -- set against the backdrop of Rwanda's verdant hills and rich wildlife, all broadcast to a global audience.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

When no one tried approaching her, she made her way to the bar to ask about an audience with Ashmodai.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Berlant, on the other hand, relishes the chance to remind her audiences of just how blissfully hysterical the world can be.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

It’s something audiences, regardless of background, can likely relate to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Help me make sense of what I just experienced,” he has been asking audiences; his film, which he stars in and co-directed with Lance Oppenheim, presents more questions than it answers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

His audiences up until October 20 have been cancelled.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Only preferred or special audiences receive such treatment.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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Related Words

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

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