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:
Many of the players are expected to attend the Notre Dame game for a recognition ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he planned to attend the UN General Assembly in New York City this autumn, despite the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, making threats to arrest him.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Netanyahu is expected to attend the funeral and meet with Trump, a win for the prime minister after weeks of lobbying for a White House sit-down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Ukrainian leader is also expected to attend the funeral of US senator Lindsey Graham, a supporter of Ukraine who died earlier this month.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
What I need is a way to get Dad onboard with the idea of me switching schools so I could attend Sunridge High’s School of Fine Art and Music.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
“Trash everywhere. Disrepair,” said Kenny Olson, a longtime real-estate broker in Foxborough, Mass., who attends about three to five foreclosure auctions a week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
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
Between training her upgraded skills, she focuses on conditioning and religiously attends physical therapy sessions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Helmuth attends a church dance on New Year's Eve but doesn't enjoy himself.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
“The whole industry learned a lot of lessons from how that dynamic played out,” said Sarah Sachs, head of AI at Notion, who attended the event.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
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
Following the meetings, all three men attended the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who up until his death on July 11 was a staunch supporter of both Ukraine and Israel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Ghassan Daghlas, the governor of the Nablus region, which includes Tell, attended a funerary prayer at the Nabuls hospital where the bodies lay before the burial, his office said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
It was a lot like the men’s dare, although Mother and Sister Gladys sometimes attended, and Nhamo learned a great deal from the conversations.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
He made an even more drastic move when he left Ivory Coast at the age of 15 to play football in the United States, attending a high school while unable to speak English at first.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 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
April’s event was Trump’s first time attending as president, and his first time since 2015.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
For example, one person attending five shows in August would count as five separate attendances.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Speaking to reporters became a part of the task of attending Central High School.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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.
