audience

[aw-dee-uhns]

noun

1. the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert.

   The audience was respectful of the speaker's opinion.

2. the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public.

   Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.

3. a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following.

   Every art form has its audience.

4. opportunity to be heard; chance to speak to or before a person or group; a hearing.

5. a formal interview with a sovereign, high officer of government, or other high-ranking person.

   an audience with the pope.

6. the act of hearing, or attending to, words or sounds.

audience

/ ˈɔːdɪəns /

noun

1. a group of spectators or listeners, esp at a public event such as a concert or play

2. the people reached by a book, film, or radio or television programme

3. the devotees or followers of a public entertainer, lecturer, etc; regular public

4. an opportunity to put one's point of view, such as a formal interview with a monarch or head of state

Grammar Note

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

• proaudience adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of audience¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin audientia “act of listening, group of listeners,” from audient-, stem of audiēns “hearing” (present participle of audīre “to hear”) + -ia -ia ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of audience¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin audientia a hearing, from audīre to hear

Example Sentences

"These details weren't for gimmicks, but to convince the audience that she was the Chinese farmer living in Malaysia," he told AFP.

Read more on Barron's

When family movies went directly to streaming, the industry feared that PG audiences wouldn’t come back when they could just stay home.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Dusty and Ruby were adolescent sweethearts, but the audience doesn’t need to know the whole backstory to guess why they broke up.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The prowling bassline of National Anthem and the slamming drum loops of Idioteque, in particular, give the audience ample opportunity to jump up and down.

Read more on BBC

The MGM brass realized, Mr. Eyman writes, that “she possessed something valuable—an electric charge that made an audience sit up and take notice.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• congregation 
• crowd 
• gallery 
• gathering 
• market 
• public