Dictionary

attend en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /əˈtɛnd/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• [əˈtʰɛnd] (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

PIE word *h₂éd From Middle English attenden, atenden (“to devote oneself (to a task, etc.); to pay attention to (something), to look after; to consider (something); to expect or look forward to (something); to intend to do (something); to help or serve (someone), attend upon; to take care of (something)”), from Old French atendre (“to await, wait for; to expect; to intend”), from Latin attendere, adtendere (“to pay attention to, attend; to direct or turn toward”), from ad- (“prefix meaning ‘to, towards’”) + tendō (“to direct one’s course; to extend, stretch; to exert, strive”). Doublet of attempt and tend.

Meanings

1. (transitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ To care for (someone requiring attention); specifically, of a doctor, nurse, etc.: to provide professional care to (someone).
   • Is any ſick? the Man of Roſs relieves; / Preſcribes, attends, the med'cine makes, and gives. 1733 (indicated as 1732), [Alexander] Pope, Of the Use of Riches, an Epistle to the Right Honourable Allen Lord Bathurst, London: […] J. Wright, for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 14:
   • VVe had at this Time a great many frightful Stories told us of Nurſes and VVatchmen, vvho looked after the dying People, that is to ſay, hir'd Nurſes, vvho attended infected People, uſing them barbarouſly, ſtarving them, ſmothering them, or by other vvicked Means, haſtening their End, that is to ſay, murthering of them: […] 1722 March, H[enry] F[oe] [pseudonym; Daniel Defoe], A Journal of the Plague Year: […], London: […] E[lizabeth] Nutt […]; J. Roberts […]; A. Dodd […]; and J. Graves […], →OCLC, page 98:
   • The fift [beadsman] had charge ſick perſons to attend, / And comfort thoſe, in point of death vvhich lay; […] 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 41, page 146:
2. (transitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ 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.
   • [I]f common Anglers ſhould attend you, and be eye-vvitneſſes of the ſucceſs, not of your fortune, but your skill, it vvould doubtleſs beget in them an emulation to be like you, and that emulation might beget an induſtrious diligence to be so: but I knovv it is not attainable by common capacities. 1653, Iz[aak] Wa[lton], “To the Right Worshipful John Offley of Madely Manor in the County of Stafford, Esq; My Most Honoured Friend”, in The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing, […], London: […] T. Maxey for Rich[ard] Marriot, […], →OCLC; reprinted as The Compleat Angler (Homo Ludens; 6), Nieuwkoop, South Holland, Netherlands: Miland Publishers, 1969, →ISBN:
   • [He] told me, that he had promiſed to attend ſome ladies in the park, and, if I vvas going the ſame vvay, vvould take me in his chariot. 1752 February 25 (Gregorian calendar), Samuel Johnson, “No. 200. Friday, February 15. 1752.”, in The Rambler, volume VIII, Edinburgh: […] Sands, Murray, and Cochran; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J. Yair, […], published 1752, →OCLC, page 119:
   • Servants attend the king day and night.
   • Madame, the young Gentleman of the Count Orſino’s is return’d, I could hardly entreate him backe: he attends your Ladyſhips pleaſure. c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 267, column 2:
   • I thinke your Lordſhip is not ignorant / Hovv his companion, youthfull Valentine, / Attends the Emperour in his royall Court. c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 22, column 2:
   • In October, 1543, the Portuguese infanta quitted her father's place in Lisbon, and set out for Castile. She was attended by a numerous train of nobles, with the archbishop of Lisbon at their head. 1855, William H[ickling] Prescott, “Early Days of Philip”, in History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume I, Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC, book I, page 40:
   • [W]ith devoted loyalty, though with a sore heart and a gloomy brow, he prepared to attend William thither. 1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XXIII, in Lady Trevelyan (Hannah More Macaulay), editor, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume V, London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, →OCLC:
3. (transitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ 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).
   • I attended a one-room school next door to the palace and studied English, Xhosa, history and geography. 1994, Nelson Mandela, “Part One: A Country Childhood”, in Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 15:
   • Andreas too attended Church; yet more like a parade-duty, for which he in the other world expected pay with arrears,— […] 1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Idyllic”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 2nd book, page 68:
   • The scribe attendeth the meeting of a learned body where the discussions are technical and rapid; yet he must produce a complete and intelligible transcript. 1897, Tho[ma]s Bengough, “Stenographic Miseries”, in Proceedings of the New York State Stenographers’ Association, […], Albany, N.Y.: Weed-Parsons Printing Company, […], →OCLC, page 59:
   • Children must attend primary school.
   • In the eyes of Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke the apotheosis of the Celebrity was complete. The people of Asquith were not only willing to attend the house-warming, but had been worked up to the pitch of eagerness. The Celebrity as a matter of course was master of ceremonies. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 62:
   • It was made a crime to attend a dissenting place of worship. A single justice of the peace might convict without a jury, and might, for the third offence, pass sentence of transportation beyond sea for seven years. 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter II, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 177:
4. (transitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ To take action with respect to (someone, or something such as a concern, problem, or task); to deal with, to handle.
5. (transitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ Of a (chiefly immaterial) thing: to be consequent to or present with (someone or something); to accompany.
   • [I] haue alſo attended them vvith briefe obſeruations, ſuch as to my vnderſtandinge, offer noe violence to the ſence, though I knovve they may bee applyed to a more diuine vſe: […] 1605, Francis Bacon, “The Second Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for Henrie Tomes, […], →OCLC, folio 91, verso:
   • Piety VVhat moved you at firſt to betake yourſelf to a Pilgrims life? / Chr[istian]. I vvas driven out of my Native Countrey, by a dreadful ſound that vvas in mine ears, to vvit, that unavoidable deſtruction did attend me, if I abode in that place vvhere I vvas. 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 53:
   • [W]ealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery, if I could banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death! 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 55:
   • Novv ſing vve ſtormy Stars, vvhen Autumn vveighs / The Year, and adds to Nights, and ſhortens Days; / And Suns declining ſhine vvith feeble Rays: / VVhat cares muſt then attend the toiling Svvain; / Or vvhen the lovv'ring Spring, vvith laviſh Rain, / Beats dovvn the ſlender Stem and bearded Grain: […] 1697, Virgil, “The First Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 62, lines 419–424:
   • a measure attended with ill effects
   • […] Fidelia answered with a frankness that always attends virtue: […] 1712 August 15 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “MONDAY, August 5, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 449; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 211:
   • The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival? 1921, Ben Travers, “‘Sing Cuccu Nu’”, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC, part I (“Come He Will”), page 47:
   • Our Food vvas attended vvith ſome Ale, vvhich our kind Hoſteſs ſaid ſhe intended not to have tap'd till Chriſtmas; […] 1751 December (indicated as 1752), Henry Fielding, “Containing Many Surprising Adventures”, in Amelia, volume III, London: […] [William Strahan] for A[ndrew] Millar […], →OCLC, book VIII, page 141:
   • [M]y ſelfe and my poore prayers ſhall to my laſt gaſpe labour to attend you. 1623, G[ervase] M[arkham], “To the Right Honourable and Most Excellentest of All Ladies, Frances, Countesse Dowager of Exceter”, in Countrey Contentments, or The English Huswife. Containing the Inward and Outward Vertues which Ought to be in a Compleate Woman. […], revised edition, London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for R[oger] Iackson, […], →OCLC:
6. (archaic, obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ To look after (someone or something); to tend.
   • One ſeek the harbour vvhere the veſſels moor, / And bring thy friends, Telemachus! aſhore, / (Leave only tvvo the gally to attend) / Another to Laerceus muſt vve ſend, […] 1725, Homer, “Book III”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page 130, lines 536–539:
   • They [plate and jewels] are in a Trunke / Attended by my men: I vvill make bold / To ſend them to you, onely for this night: […] 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi], page 375, column 2:
7. (intransitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ Followed by to: to look after someone or something.
   • Valets attend to their employers’ wardrobes.
   • Lenny still went to church—a church a long way off in another parish—but the sermons did not do him the same good as Parson Dale's had done; and the clergyman, who had his own flock to attend to, did not condescend, as Parson Dale would have done, to explain what seemed obscure, and enforce what was profitable, in private talk, with that stray lamb from another's fold. 1853, Pisistratus Caxton [pseudonym; Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XVI, in “My Novel”; Or Varieties in English Life […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book third, page 220:
8. (intransitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ 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.
   • [T]wenty yeomen, two and two, / In hosen black, and jerkins blue, / With falcons broider'd on each breast, / Attended on their lord's behest. 1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto First. The Castle.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza VIII, page 30:
   • He […] had sought his place in the live universe by attending on drunk people and helping them home through the midnight streets, […] 1879, George Mac Donald, “A Voice”, in Sir Gibbie. […], volume II, London: Hurst and Blackett, […], →OCLC, page 84:
   • [H]e entertained a gard of three thovvſand about him, beſides a band of young gentlemen of the order of knightes that attended alvvayes upon his perſone ready at commaundement, vvhom he called the garde againſt the Senate. 1579, Plutarke of Chæronea [i.e., Plutarch], “The Life of Sylla”, in Thomas North, transl., The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romaines, […], London: […] Richard Field, →OCLC, page 505:
   • Following on the veiled Bride / Fifty female slaves attend / In costly robes that gleam / With interwoven gold, […] 1801, Robert Southey, “The Seventh Book”, in Thalaba the Destroyer, volume II, London: […] [F]or T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Cottle, […], →OCLC, page 84:
   • Th' officious Nymphs, attending in a Ring, / VVith VVaters dravvn from their perpetual Spring, / From earthly dregs his Body purify, / And rub his Temples, vvith fine Tovvels, dry: / Then load the Tables vvith a lib'ral Feaſt, / And honour vvith full Bovvls their friendly Gueſt. 1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 138, lines 539–544:
9. (intransitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ 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.
   • He died (according to Hermippas) at Piſa, embracing his ſon, victor in the Olympick games, of the cæſtus, the vveakneſſe of his age overcome vvith exceſſe of joy; all vvho vvere preſent at the great aſſembly attended on his funeralls, […] 1655, Thomas Stanley, “[Chilon.] Chap[ter] III. His Death, and Writings.”, in The History of Philosophy. […], volume I, London: […] Humphrey Moseley, and Thomas Dring, […], →OCLC, 1st part ([Containing Those on whom the Attribute of Wise was Conferr’d]), page 72:
   • There were a few errors in the testimony of [a civilian witness] which the trial judge noted – one, that they attended at the Fairhurst residence the day before the robbery, and two, that Wakelin was with them. 2016 April 18, Michele M. Murphy, Justice, Court of Appeal of Prince Edward Island, “R. v. Yeo [[2016] PEIJ No 14 (QL)]”, in Canadian Legal Information Institute, paragraph 30:
   • All persons, of whatever rank, attended at the County Courts, but they did not go there as judges, they went to sue for justice; to be informed of their duty, and to be bound to the performance of it. Thus all sorts of people attended at the Wittenagemotes, not to make laws, but to attend at the promulgation of the laws; as among so free a people every institution must have wanted much of its necessary authority, if not confirmed by the general approbation. 1760, Edmund Burke, “An Essay towards an Abridgment of the English History. […]. Chapter VII. Of the Laws and Institutions of the Saxons.”, in [Walker King], editor, The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, new edition, volume X, London: […] [R. Gilbert] for C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], published 1826, →OCLC, book II, page 347:
   • Around 12:15 a.m. patrolling officers Tremblay and Mathieu attended at the appellant’s home. 2011 October 14, Thomas Cromwell, Puisne Justice, Supreme Court of Canada, “R. v. Côté [2011 SCC 46 (CanLII)]”, in Canadian Legal Information Institute, archived from the original on 13 Mar 2022, paragraph 9:
   • 'Whither goest thou?' he exclaimed, 'at this hour, were it not better thou attendedst at vespers?' 1837 May, E. L., “The Castle and the Monastery”, in The New Monthly Belle Assemblée; a Magazine of Literature and Fashion, […], volume VI, London: […] Joseph Rogerson, […], →OCLC, page 244, column 2:
10. (intransitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ Followed by to: to take action with respect to someone or something; to deal with.
    • Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
    • Secretaries attend to correspondence.
    • [T]he two captains, Peleg and Bildad, could attend to everything necessary to fit the vessel for the voyage. 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Going Abroad”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 108:
11. (intransitive) Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present. ▸ Followed by on or upon: of a (chiefly immaterial) thing: to be consequent on or present with.
    • The country in the neighbourhood of this village resembled, to a greater degree, the scenery of Switzerland; but every thing is on a lower scale, and the green hills want the crown of distant white Alps, which always attend on the piny mountains of my native country. 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter II, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 29:
    • But I aſſeſt the gods, your full conſent, / Gaue vvings to my propenſion, and cut off / All feares attending on ſo dire a proiect, […] c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], signature D3, recto:
    • [K]novvledge dravvne freſhly and in our vievv out of particulers, knovveth the vvaie beſt to particulers againe. And it hath much greater life for practiſe: vvhen the diſcourſe attendeth vpon the Example, then vvhen the example attenddeth^([sic]) vpon the diſcourſe. 1605, Francis Bacon, “The Second Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for Henrie Tomes, […], →OCLC, folio 92, recto:
12. (archaic, transitive) Senses relating to directing one's attention. ▸ To listen to (something or someone).
    • But Goddess! thou, thy ſuppliant Son attend, / To high Olympus’ ſhining Court aſcend, / Urge all the Ties to former Service ovv'd, / And ſue for Vengeance to the Thund'ring God. 1720, Homer, “Book XIX”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume V, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 24, lines 510–513:
    • Pyrocles minde was all thius while so fixed upon another devotion, that he no more attentively marked his friends discourse, then […] the diligent pilot in a dangerous tempest doth attend the unskilful words of a passinger: […] c. 1580 (date written), Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:
    • Avvay, I do condemne mine eares, that haue / So long attended thee. 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi], page 375, column 1:
    • [M]y tale / Attend, nor deem of light avail, / Though I must speak of worldly love,— […] 1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Fifth. The Court.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza XXI, page 272:
13. (obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to directing one's attention. ▸ To give consideration to (someone or something); to heed, to pay attention, to regard.
    • The Maids officious round their Miſtreſs vvait, / Then all diſperſing, various Tasks attend; […] 1715, Homer, “Book III”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 25, lines 526–527:
    • Attend thy footſteps vvhen thou dravveſt near / The House of God; […] a. 1645 (date written), Francis Quarles, “Chapter V”, in Solomons Recantation, Entituled Ecclesiastes, Paraphrased. […], London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Richard Royston, […], published 1645, →OCLC, page 22:
    • If thou attendeſt thy Philosophy, I am glad of it, for that in truth is to be in health. VVithout it the minde is ſicke, and the bodie alſo notvvithſtanding it be ſtrong and able: for it is no othervviſe healthie then as a man might ſay, the bodie of one that is madde and troubled vvith the frenſie. 1613, Lucius Annaeus Seneca [i.e., Seneca the Younger], “The Epistles of Lucius Annæus Seneca the Philosopher. […]. Epistle XV.”, in Thomas Lodge, transl., The Workes of Lucius Annæus Seneca, both Morrall and Naturall. […], London: […] William Stansby, →OCLC, page 187:
14. (intransitive) Senses relating to directing one's attention. ▸ Often followed by to, upon, or with: to give consideration; to pay attention.
    • Wherfore ye muſt needs be ſubiect [to rulers], not onely for wrath, but alſo for conſcience ſake. For, for this cauſe pay you tribute alſo: for they are Gods ministers, attending continually vpon this very thing. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 13:5–6:
    • The preſent Argument is the moſt abſtracted that ever I engaged in, it ſtrains my Faculties to their higheſt Stretch; and I deſire the Reader to attend with utmoſt perpenſity; For, I now proceed to unravel this knotty Point. 1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section IX. A Digression Concerning the Original, the Use and Improvement of Madness in a Commonwealth.”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, pages 169–170:
    • [T]here is a Griſon Regiment kept ſtill in pay by the Spaniards, there are in it tvvelve Companies of fifty a piece, and the Captains have a thouſand Crovvns pay, tho they are not obliged to attend upon the ſervice: […] 1685 October 11 (date written; Gregorian calendar), G[ilbert] Burnet, “The Second Letter. Millan, the First of October, 1685.”, in Some Letters. Containing, an Account of what Seemed Most Remarkable in Switzerland, Italy, &c. […], Rotterdam: […] Abraham Acher, […], published 1686, →OCLC, page 78:
    • It will be sufficient for me if I discover many beauties or imperfections which others have not attended to; and I should be very glad to see one of our eminent writers publish their discoveries on the same subject. 1712 January 10 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “SUNDAY, December 31, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 262; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 308:
    • I hesitated before I answered; when Frankenstein, who had at first been silent, and, indeed, appeared hardly to have force enough to attend, now roused himself; his eyes sparkled, and his cheeks flushed with momentary vigour. 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], “Walton, in continuation”, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 168:
15. (archaic, intransitive) Senses relating to directing one's attention. ▸ Followed by to or unto: to listen.
    • 'Now attend to me,' said Painted Jaguar, 'because this is very important.[…]' 1902, Rudyard Kipling, “The Beginning of the Armadillos”, in Just So Stories: For Little Children, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 102:
    • Heare the right, O Lord, attend vnto my crie, giue eare vnto my prayer, that goeth not out of fained lips. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalm 17:1, column 1:
    • Thoſe Vnckles vvhich you vvant, vvere dangerous, / Your Grace attended to their ſugred vvords, / But lookt not on the poiſon of their hearts: […] c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], signature [E4], verso:
    • Thus Chryſes pray’d: the fav’ring Povv’r attends, / And from Olympus’s lofty Tops deſcends. 1715, Homer, “Book I”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 4, lines 61–62:
    • VVhilſt I vvas haſtening in my flight, I ſaid, "I am rejected from thy favour." Nevertheleſs thou attendedſt to my petition, vvhen I invoked thee. 1793, William Robert Wake, “Psalm XXXI”, in A Liberal Version of the Psalms into Modern Language, According to the Liturgy Translation; […], volume I, Bath, Somerset: […] R. Cruttwell; and sold by G[eorge] G[eorge] J[ohn] and J. Robinson, […]; and C[harles] Dilly, […], →OCLC, verses 24–25, page 75:
16. (archaic, obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to waiting for something. ▸ To look out or wait for (someone, or something such as a decision or event); to await.
    • Here I attend / The King—and lo! he comes.— […] 1749, [Tobias George Smollett], The Regicide: Or, James the First, of Scotland. A Tragedy. […], London: […] [F]or the benefit of the author, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 17:
    • Three days I promis'd to attend my Doom, / And tvvo long days and nights are yet to come: […] 1665 (first performance), John Dryden, The Indian Emperour, or, The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act III, scene ii, page 29:
    • In the City of London, beſides the great Numbers and Riches of the Inhabitants, vvere retired moſt of the great Nobles of the Kingdom, both Eccleſiaſtical and Secular, vvho had not been engaged in Action of either Side, and attended, vvhat vvould be the Iſſue of this ſtrong and violent Convulſion of the State. 1695, William Temple, An Introduction to the History of England, London: […] Richard Simpson […], and Ralph Simpson […], →OCLC, page 124:
    • Ægyptian ingenuity vvas more unſatisfied, contriving their bodies in ſvveet conſiſtences, to attend the return of their ſouls. But all vvas vanity, feeding the vvinde, and folly. 1658, Thomas Browne, “Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall. […]. Chapter V.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], →OCLC, page 78:
    • Fathers, vve once again are met in Council. / [Julius] Cæsar’s Approach has ſummon’d us together, / And Rome attends her Fate from our Reſolves: […] 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 17:
17. (archaic, obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to waiting for something. ▸ To expect or look forward to (someone or something).
    • This offer vvas contumeliouſly rejected; the Capuans relying on their ovvne ſtrength, and the ſuccours attended from Hannibal. 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], “Of the Second Punick War”, in The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, 5th book, §. XIIII (The Romans Winne Some Townes back from Hannibal. […]), page 503:
    • Yet ſatteſt thou an idle looker on, / And glad attendeſt vvhich ſide vvonne or loſt: […] 1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The First Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC, stanza 51, page 11:
18. (archaic, figuratively, obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to waiting for something. ▸ Of a thing: to be in store or lie in wait for (someone or something); to await.
    • To him, I ſay, vvho hath a proſpect of the different State of perfect Happineſs or Miſery that attends all Men after this Life, depending on their Behaviour here, the meaſures of Good and Evil, that govern his choice, are mightily changed. 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Of Power”, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book II, page 127:
19. (archaic, intransitive, obsolete) Senses relating to waiting for something. ▸ To remain and wait; to abide.
    • The lady attended as if ſhe expected I ſhould go on. 1768, Mr. Yorick [pseudonym; Laurence Sterne], “The Remise. Calais.”, in A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, volume I, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […], →OCLC, page 78:
    • […] God knocketh at the doore of our hearts, but vvorketh nothing in our hearts, till vve firſt of our ſelues aſſent to let him in. He attendeth till vve open him the gates, and then he vvith his heauenly gifts vvill enter in; […] 1607, Robert Abbot, “Of Free Will”, in The Second Part of The Defence of the Reformed Catholicke. […], London: […] [Richard Field for] Thomæ Adams, →OCLC, page 147:
20. (archaic, intransitive, obsolete, rare) Senses relating to waiting for something. ▸ Followed by for: to expect or look forward.
21. (archaic, figuratively, intransitive, obsolete) Senses relating to waiting for something. ▸ Followed by for: of a thing: to be in store or lie in wait.
22. (obsolete) To intend (something).

Forms

Deriveds

stretch-attend posture · attending · overattend · attended · misattend · underattend · reattender · disattend · attend to · attendee · reattendance · attendable · attender · coattend · tend · reattend · preattend

Relateds

attentive · attention · attentiveness · attendant · attentively · attendance

Synonyms

privy · hark · harken · take heed · listen close · mark · give heed · bestand · pay attention · service · tend · wait · tend · note · do · wait on · keep · give ear · take note · mark · stay · attend to · pick up what someone is putting down · attend · wait for · take heed · mind · lend an ear · take notice · attend · bestand · pay heed · await · notice · mind · notice · pass · stay · dance attendance · behear · list · do for · abide · attend · await · clock · wait · regard · notice · heed · hold up · earball · attend · remain · aid · serve · bide · serve · be all ears · consider · expect · tarry · wait on · wait upon · let in on · behear · heed · bestead

Translations (115)

hu jár ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · fr fréquenter ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ga freastail ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · gl espeitar ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · hu törődik ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ru посеща́ть ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · tr katılmak ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · el μεριμνώ ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · eo ĉeesti ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · pt assistir ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · fi käydä ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · bg присъствам ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · mww koom ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · cs zabývat se ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · es ocuparse de ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · gl asistir ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ru посети́ть ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · es atender ((''transitive'') to care for) · fr être présent ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · pl uczęszczać ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · es concurrir ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu elintéz ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · el παρευρίσκομαι ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu látogat ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ca atendre ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · es cursar ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ru заня́ться ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · gl chatar ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · fa وجهیدن ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · fr assister ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · de teilnehmen ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · pl brać udział ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · gl precurar ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · la attendō ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · hu eljár ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · fi huolehtia ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · fi pitää huolta ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ja 通う ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu gondoskodik ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · grc φοιτάω ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ru име́ть де́ло ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · bg прислужвам ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · la audio ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · hu foglalkozik ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · hu ügyel ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · pt comparecer ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · oc assistir ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · es acudir ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ca assistir ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · nl volgen ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · de besuchen ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ru прису́тствовать ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu intéz ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ro participa ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · gl catar ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ru удели́ть внима́ние ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · hu vigyáz ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · pl atentować ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu figyel ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · pt participar de ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · gl percurar ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · de beachten ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · hu részt vesz ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · bg посещавам ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ru уделя́ть внима́ние ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · cy canolbwyntio ar ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · es atender ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · pt cuidar ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ja 立ち会う ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ru ходи́ть ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · bg грижа се ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · uk бути присутнім ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ko 다니다 ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · es presenciar ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ro fi prezent ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · el παρίσταμαι ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · gl atender ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · fi olla läsnä ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · it frequentare ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · gd sgeadaich ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · he נָכַח ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · sv närvara ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · cmn 出席 ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · cs účastnit se ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · mk присуствува ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · fi osallistua ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · ko 출석하다 ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · pt frequentar ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · bg обръщам внимание ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ja 出席する ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · el φροντίζω ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · hu jelen van ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · vi tham gia ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu felügyel ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · pt estar presente em ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · de kümmern ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · cy mynychu ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · nl bijwonen ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu kiszolgál ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · io asistar ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · el παραβρίσκομαι ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · la intersum ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · zza tor biyen ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu ellát ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ga éist ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · yi בײַזײַן ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · fr aller ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · it partecipare ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · fi hoitaa ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ru занима́ться ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · nl aanwezig zijn ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · cs zúčastnit se ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · sv delta ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to) · hu ápol ((intransitive) to give consideration — see also pay attention) · ar حَضَرَ ((''ambitransitive'') to be present at or regularly go to)