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

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Etymology

Origin of attendant

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

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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

It’s a veritable feast for the ears, and “My Aim Is True” is a worthy subject for all of the attendant attention.

From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026

The list includes flight attendant, nurse and therapist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

My guilt eased when I pulled into the drive-through of a pharmacy and the attendant burst out laughing at the sight of the idling microcar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Sarjo, also Year 11, already knows she wants to be a flight attendant so she is taking hospitality and catering as a BTec Level 2 alongside GCSEs.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Then together, saying little, the two of them journeyed to the roof field, where his hovercar had been parked by the pleasant white-clad human attendant.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

The ongoing turbulence meant a bathroom dash was out of the question, and flight attendants were in no position to help.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

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

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 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

All his attendants withdrew and closed the gate behind them.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

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Related Words

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

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