attendant
Americannoun
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a person who attends another, as to perform a service.
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Chiefly British. an usher or clerk.
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a corollary or concomitant thing or quality.
- Synonyms:
- consequence, accompaniment
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a person who is present, as at a meeting.
adjective
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being present or in attendance; accompanying.
-
consequent; concomitant; associated; related: poverty and its attendant hardships.
winter holidays and attendant parties; war and its attendant evils;
poverty and its attendant hardships.
noun
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a person who accompanies or waits upon another
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a person employed to assist, guide, or provide a service for others, esp for the general public
a lavatory attendant
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a person who is present
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a logical consequence or natural accompaniment
hatred is often an attendant of jealousy
adjective
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being in attendance
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associated; accompanying; related
attendant problems
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing attendant
Nothing But the Truth
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Fences
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Here! Synonyms For "Present"
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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.
When I started traveling a lot, businessmen would order a drink and have a $20 bill and the flight attendant would have to go up and down the plane looking for change.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
Alejandro, the gas station attendant, said he felt there were "too few oversights" of mining projects.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
Most films have instead relied on resourceful camerawork, creative license and shrewd editing to bring an authentic, you-are-there quality to footage lensed mainly in and around Cannes, including iconic festival exteriors and the attendant bustle.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Easy: Yesterday, I was not only gripping the armrest but gripping the hand of the flight attendant who was sitting down in the aisle, soothing me as I hyperventilated and wept.
From Slate • May 10, 2026
“I want a set of books for someone who is keen on Art,” she would say, and the attendant would answer, “Yes, Madam, will you come this way?”
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Definitions 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.
