attend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to be present at.
to attend a lecture; to attend church.
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to go with as a concomitant or result; accompany.
Fever may attend a cold. Success attended her hard work.
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to take care of; minister to; devote one's services to.
The nurse attended the patient daily.
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to wait upon; accompany as a companion or servant.
The retainers attended their lord.
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to take charge of; watch over; look after; tend; guard.
to attend one's health.
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to listen to; give heed to.
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Archaic. to wait for; expect.
verb (used without object)
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to take care or charge.
to attend to a sick person.
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to apply oneself.
to attend to one's work.
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to pay attention; listen or watch attentively; direct one's thought; pay heed.
to attend to a speaker.
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to be present.
She is a member but does not attend regularly.
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to be present and ready to give service; wait (usually followed by on orupon ).
to attend upon the Queen.
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to follow; be consequent (usually followed by on orupon ).
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Obsolete. to wait.
verb
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to be present at (an event, meeting, etc)
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to give care; minister
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to pay attention; listen
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(tr; often passive) to accompany or follow
a high temperature attended by a severe cough
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to follow as a consequence (of)
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to devote one's time; apply oneself
to attend to the garden
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(tr) to escort or accompany
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to wait (on); serve; provide for the needs (of)
to attend on a guest
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archaic (tr) to wait for; expect
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obsolete (intr) to delay
Synonym Usage
See accompany.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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attendsimple
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attendssimple
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have attendedperfect
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has attendedperfect
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am attendingprogressive
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are attendingprogressive
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is attendingprogressive
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have been attendingperfect progressive
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has been attendingperfect progressive
Past
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attendedsimple
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had attendedperfect
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was attendingprogressive
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were attendingprogressive
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had been attendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of attend
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English atenden, from Anglo-French, Old French atendre, from Latin attendere “to bend to, notice,” from at- at- + tendere “to stretch, extend, proceed”; cf. tend 1
Explanation
The verb attend means to be present, to listen, or give care or attention to. You can attend your family reunion, attend to a project you've been ignoring, or attend to your teacher's voice. When you use attend as "pay attention" or "take care of," it's followed by "to." When you use attend as in "attend a party," you don't. If you attend a political rally, you'll want to attend to what the politicians have to say. When you take attendance, you are checking which students have chosen to attend class, i.e. who is in attendance.
Vocabulary lists containing attend
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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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:
Sir Ed said on X that he would attend the meeting by Zoom as he was with his family in France and had a disabled son who needed "24/7 care".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Zelensky and Netanyahu are in Washington to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died this month aged 71.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
He still never thought he would ever be able to attend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The couple is planning a move to the suburbs of Green Bay, Wis., where they hope their son will be able to attend good schools and play with neighbors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Constance, can’t you be more understanding? I’ve business to attend to. Men’s business. And the club’s accommodations are far more suitable for that sort of thing than this ridiculous frou-frou of a house, what?”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The position was created by statute in the 1800s; the marshal serves as the chief of police for the court, attends each court session, and handles ministerial duties, like paying the justices and their staffs.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
Wearing sunglasses and dressed with care, Burin resident Qusai Walid Eid summarises the feeling, saying he attends the festival every year to strengthen "our roots in this land".
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to ask Western countries to send more of their own scarce supply of interceptors when he attends the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Ankara this week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
He attends lectures at the University of Toronto by Marshall McLuhan.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
And the state has rules about children and extended illnesses and contagious diseases, and it doesn't matter what kind of a school the kid attends.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
The vote came hours after Zelensky met Trump at the White House and attended the Washington funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv's most vocal allies in Congress.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The suspect is believed to have been among a group of men who attended the darts tournament dressed in lobster costumes.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
His eldest son, Flávio, was formally nominated as the right-wing candidate on Saturday at a party convention attended by Argentine President Javier Milei, an ideological ally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Vallee said when she attended the “No Kings” protest, it was “jam-packed.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
I considered pretending that I still attended, but what was the point?
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
With resources limited, a situation not helped by the widely reported corruption scandals within several international federations in Cameroon, attending international competitions was extremely challenging.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The Seattle Times reported that the area was teeming with revelers attending a food festival called the Bite of Seattle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Oddie was born in Rochdale, near Manchester, and grew up in Birmingham before attending Cambridge University, where he was a member of the illustrious Footlights comedy troupe.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Before attending a memorial service for the victims in central Berlin's Marienkirche, Chancellor Friedrich Merz appealed to those targeted by the attack to "not let yourselves be intimidated".
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
She thanked everyone for attending and then read off the winners of the silent auctions.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
