attend
Americanverb (used with object)
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attends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
attended,
past participle, past
-
attending
present participle
-
to be present at.
to attend a lecture; to attend church.
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to go with as a concomitant or result; accompany.
Fever may attend a cold. Success attended her hard work.
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to take care of; minister to; devote one's services to.
The nurse attended the patient daily.
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to wait upon; accompany as a companion or servant.
The retainers attended their lord.
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to take charge of; watch over; look after; tend; guard.
to attend one's health.
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to listen to; give heed to.
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Archaic. to wait for; expect.
verb (used without object)
-
attends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
attended,
past participle, past
-
attending
present participle
-
to take care or charge.
to attend to a sick person.
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to apply oneself.
to attend to one's work.
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to pay attention; listen or watch attentively; direct one's thought; pay heed.
to attend to a speaker.
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to be present.
She is a member but does not attend regularly.
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to be present and ready to give service; wait (usually followed by on orupon ).
to attend upon the Queen.
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to follow; be consequent (usually followed by on orupon ).
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Obsolete. to wait.
verb
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to be present at (an event, meeting, etc)
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to give care; minister
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to pay attention; listen
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(tr; often passive) to accompany or follow
a high temperature attended by a severe cough
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to follow as a consequence (of)
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to devote one's time; apply oneself
to attend to the garden
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(tr) to escort or accompany
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to wait (on); serve; provide for the needs (of)
to attend on a guest
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archaic (tr) to wait for; expect
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obsolete (intr) to delay
Synonym Usage
See accompany.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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attendsimple
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attendssimple
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have attendedperfect
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has attendedperfect
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am attendingprogressive
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are attendingprogressive
-
is attendingprogressive
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have been attendingperfect progressive
-
has been attendingperfect progressive
Past
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attendedsimple
-
had attendedperfect
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was attendingprogressive
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were attendingprogressive
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had been attendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of attend
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English atenden, from Anglo-French, Old French atendre, from Latin attendere “to bend to, notice,” from at- at- + tendere “to stretch, extend, proceed”; cf. tend 1
Explanation
The verb attend means to be present, to listen, or give care or attention to. You can attend your family reunion, attend to a project you've been ignoring, or attend to your teacher's voice. When you use attend as "pay attention" or "take care of," it's followed by "to." When you use attend as in "attend a party," you don't. If you attend a political rally, you'll want to attend to what the politicians have to say. When you take attendance, you are checking which students have chosen to attend class, i.e. who is in attendance.
Vocabulary lists containing attend
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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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.
See Examples For:
On Sunday 4 October, around 5,000 people are expected to attend a march in Whitechapel to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Nepal's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, has confirmed he will attend the Pacific climate meeting, after the August 26 Himalayan flood disaster.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
She would attend meetings “to read scripts, write notes, and dispense mineral water.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Unlike most of the alleged assailants, Doe left college after what Giuffra has described as a “horrifying” semester in which she had to attend classes “where she saw these guys on a fairly regular basis.”
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Her chaperone stood beside her; her sisters did not attend.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Milania, who attends the University of Tampa, then asked if she was going to be placed “back in the psych ward.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
Ingrid is involved in music and theater at Quincy Village, which is part of Presbyterian Senior Living, and attends local history discussions in nearby Waynesboro, Pa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Macron's visit to London, which includes bilateral talks with Burnham on Thursday, will be rich with symbolism as the French president attends the official opening of the Bayeux showcase the previous day.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Because that’s expensive, she’s asking everyone who attends to pay her $80 to help cover the tab.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
When she returns to the United States, she moves to Washington, DC, and works as an usher for the Kennedy Center, where she attends concerts for free.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Charles used the phrase in a speech in Barbados when he attended the ceremony in which it became a republic in 2021, removing his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of state.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Olah was disturbed after reading a copy of “Magnifica humanitas” and suggested pulling Anthropic out of the event, although he ultimately attended.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Rinaldi attended junior college before transferring to the University of California, Davis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
More than 11,000 attended the local derby against city rivals Chemie Leipzig.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
I attended the primary school on the Institute’s campus.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Google also maintains an influencer network of more than 6,000 teachers, offering them “Certified” badges for attending its workshops about Google tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
She studied biology in college and volunteered in health clinics before changing course and attending law school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Borthwick, now England head coach, was the only missing representative from the coaches and captains of 12 English, Welsh and Scottish clubs attending the event.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Marriott cardholders attending the event would be out of luck if they wanted to use points.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
They happily complied, for they were under the impression that they would be attending some sort of late-night welcome party for Madame Ionesco.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
