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Synonyms

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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."

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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.

See Examples For:

“I think that because the demographic here is very Latino, we’re all supporting each other,” said Frida Mitre, a Hard Summer attendee.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 4, 2026

The best crowd surfing of the day came thanks to a seasoned, white-haired fest attendee in a bike helmet who was getting tossed around like a white-water rafter.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 21, 2026

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

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

"They recruited US citizens to engage in sham marriages, arranged sham wedding ceremonies complete with officiants, wedding attire, photographers, and attendees," McDonald said.

From Barron's Aug. 12, 2026

With dozens of performances spread throughout every City Council district, organizers hoped the shows would draw 250,000 attendees and inaugurate the city as a home for jazz events on par with New Orleans and Montreal.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 7, 2026

Singers like Phoebe Bridgers and Alicia Keys have required their concert attendees to use lock pouches - sealed bags that allow people to hold on to their phones without being able to access them.

From BBC Aug. 6, 2026

The pop star and “Wicked” actor added context during a concert on Monday, telling attendees that she had settled on this course of action “a long time ago” while in “a thoughtful and empowered place.”

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 6, 2026

At a war labor conference that Hampton Institute hosted in 1942, MacLean told attendees that the war could be “the greatest break in history for minority groups.”

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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