attend

verb

Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.

(transitive) To care for (someone requiring attention); specifically, of a doctor, nurse, etc.: to provide professional care to (someone).

(transitive) To wait on (someone or their instructions) as an attendant, servant, etc.; also (specifically of a gentleman-in-waiting or lady-in-waiting to a member of royalty), to accompany (someone) in order to assist or wait upon them; to escort.

(transitive) To be present at (an event or place) in order to take part in some action or proceedings; also, to regularly go to (an event or place).

(transitive) To take action with respect to (someone, or something such as a concern, problem, or task); to deal with, to handle.

(transitive) Of a (chiefly immaterial) thing: to be consequent to or present with (someone or something); to accompany.

(intransitive) Followed by to: to look after someone or something.

(intransitive) To be ready to wait upon someone or their instructions as an attendant, servant, etc.; also (followed by on or upon), to accompany someone in order to assist or wait upon them.

(intransitive) Followed by to: to take action with respect to someone or something; to deal with.

(intransitive) Followed by on or upon: of a (chiefly immaterial) thing: to be consequent on or present with.

Senses relating to directing one's attention.

(intransitive) Often followed by to, upon, or with: to give consideration; to pay attention.

(transitive) To look out or wait for (someone, or something such as a decision or event); to await.

(transitive) To expect or look forward to (someone or something).

(transitive, figurative) Of a thing: to be in store or lie in wait for (someone or something); to await.

(intransitive) To remain and wait; to abide.

(intransitive, figurative) Followed by for: of a thing: to be in store or lie in wait.

(intransitive) Followed by at: to go to and be present at a place for some purpose; also (obsolete), followed by on: to be present at and take part in an event.

(transitive, archaic or obsolete) To look after (someone or something); to tend.

(transitive, archaic) To listen to (something or someone).

(transitive, obsolete) To give consideration to (someone or something); to heed, to pay attention, to regard.

(intransitive, archaic) Followed by to or unto: to listen.

(archaic or obsolete) Senses relating to waiting for something.

(intransitive, rare) Followed by for: to expect or look forward.

(obsolete) To intend (something).

Roots

tendo-tend · Latin · stretch

Synonyms for attend

visitn servev accompanyv joinv assistv seev

Synonyms & related words for attend

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of attend — including visit, serve, accompany, join, assist, see. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to attend

Explore words related to attend — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include participate, attendees, attendance, partake, invited, meetings, stopoff, partook. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for attend

Common synonyms for attend include visit, serve, accompany, join, assist, see — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does attend come from?

The word attend breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -tend, from Latin tendo (“stretch”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.