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.

---

attendee British  

/ əˌtɛnˈdiː /

noun

1. a person who is present at a specified event

---

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

“There’s this common ground here,” said Nemiah Guimbatan, 30, a first-time attendee from California.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

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

"We are working with Mischief Management, who are managing attendee feedback and issuing full refunds to everyone who purchased tickets. We want every fan experience to be an excellent one."

From BBC • Mar. 30, 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

Related Words

• attendant