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

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attendant attendants

In Minnesota’s second district, a longtime flight attendant and state representative is running in the Aug. 11 Democratic congressional primary to replace Rep. Angie Craig, who is seeking the governorship.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Thankfully for the attendant, Tito Double P is always camera-ready.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

Pam Blaschum, a TWA flight attendant, had been on a flight that arrived early.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Cusack, the inquest heard, told her girlfriend before her death that she wanted to move to Dubai and be a flight attendant, and had been looking for a new job online.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

He is kept densely medicated—awash in a sea of assorted antipsychotics and sedatives—and has an attendant watch, bathe, and feed him through the day.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

At a line’s end, attendants hand you a small paper cup’s worth of fluid—two if they’re feeling generous.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026

Among the earliest Buddhist artworks made in Korea, it is the only known example with a bejeweled bodhisattva flanked by two monk attendants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

At the petrol station, the Egyptian and Iraqi attendants want to talk about Mo Salah.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

In addition to passengers affected, roughly 17,000 employees—including pilots, flight attendants, and ground crews—are suddenly without jobs.

From Salon ● May 2, 2026

All around were red columns, decorated ceilings, court attendants, and guards, but Pinmei noticed none of those.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

Related Words

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