attendee

American  

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

noun

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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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

These estimates — which one attendee described as “cute” — prompted audible scoffs in the room.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 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

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

Nissam Crowe, another rally attendee, agreed, saying: "We want democracy. We want freedom."

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Of the twenty other people at Edmonds’s séance, an unnamed man wrote about his experience as an attendee that same night.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• attendant