attendee
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of attendee
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."
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.
Compared with the typical nightlife scene in Los Angeles, attendee Shaunt Kludjian says gatherings like these feel more intentional.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
The Justice Department officials and station executives discussed whether Congress needs to re-examine the Sports Broadcasting Act, one attendee said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
On Monday, carnival attendee Glamour Sandra told the AP news agency that she loved "the energy, the artistic splendour, the creativity" of the event.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
Bannon himself didn’t show up, but Greg Bovino did, along with almost every attendee who found out about the event.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
“Welcome to Tokyo, Miss Chen,” the hotel’s registration attendee says to me as we reach the front desk.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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.
