attendee

American  

[uh-ten-dee, at-en-, uh-ten-dee] / ə tɛnˈdi, ˌæt ɛn-, əˈtɛn di /

noun

attendees plural

1. a person who is present at a specific time or place.

   a conference with thousands of attendees.

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attendee British  

/ əˌtɛnˈdiː /

noun

1. a person who is present at a specified event

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• attendees
  plural

Etymology

Origin of attendee

First recorded in 1935–40; attend + -ee

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

If you want to take it a step further and keep things organized, create a shared spreadsheet and encourage each attendee to list what they’re bringing.

From Salon • Jun. 21, 2026

One first-time attendee, sexual-assault survivor and speaker Nicole Earnest-Payte, thinks that CrimeCon gets a bad reputation because its name is similar to Comic Con, the annual sci-fi and super-hero juggernaut.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026

Another older attendee acting as a mentor pipes up, advising others to pay attention even if they aren’t planning on going into real estate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

One attendee, Jess Blaise, the co-founder of Haitian Spotlight LA, credits her Haitian heritage and the fragrance rituals modeled by her mother for her connection to scent.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

One of the event’s coordinators let her know that “her greatest fan,” a fellow attendee, wanted to meet her.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• attendant