ATTEND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does attend mean? 

• ATTEND (verb)
  The verb ATTEND has 5 senses:

1. be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.

2. take charge of or deal with

3. to accompany as a circumstance or follow as a result

4. work for or be a servant to

5. give heed (to)

  Familiarity information: ATTEND used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ATTEND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they attend    ... he / she / it attends   
Past simple: attended   
Past participle: attended   
-ing form: attending   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

attend; go to

Context example:

did you go to the meeting?

Hypernyms (to "attend" is one way to...):

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Domain category:

church; church service (a service conducted in a house of worship)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attend"):

sit in (attend as a visitor)

worship (attend religious services)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

miss (fail to attend an event or activity)

Derivation:

attendance (the act of being present (at a meeting or event etc.))

attendant; attender (a person who is present and participates in a meeting)

attender (someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Take charge of or deal with

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

attend; look; see; take care

Context example:

She took care of this business

Hypernyms (to "attend" is one way to...):

care; give care (provide care for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attend"):

minister (attend to the wants and needs of others)

tend (have care of or look after)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

attention (the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

To accompany as a circumstance or follow as a result

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

Menuhin's playing was attended by a 15-minute standing ovation

Hypernyms (to "attend" is one way to...):

accompany; attach to; come with; go with (be present or associated with an event or entity)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

attendant (occurring with or following as a consequence)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Work for or be a servant to

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

assist; attend; attend to; serve; wait on

Context example:

The minister served the King for many years

Hypernyms (to "attend" is one way to...):

aid; assist; help (give help or assistance; be of service)

Verb group:

serve (devote (part of) one's life or efforts to, as of countries, institutions, or ideas)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attend"):

valet (serve as a personal attendant to)

fag (act as a servant for older boys, in British public schools)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Derivation:

attendant; attender (someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Give heed (to)

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

advert; attend; give ear; hang; pay heed

Context example:

They attended to everything he said

Hypernyms (to "attend" is one way to...):

listen (hear with intention)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attend"):

fixate (pay attention to exclusively and obsessively)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

attender (someone who listens attentively)

attention (the faculty or power of mental concentration)

attention (the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others)

attention (a general interest that leads people to want to know more)

attentive ((often followed by 'to') giving care or attention)

attentive (taking heed; giving close and thoughtful attention)

 Context examples 

Why does Traddles look so important when he calls upon me this afternoon in the Commons—where I still occasionally attend, for form's sake, when I have time?

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Each night the dogs were attended to first.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He shall be ready to attend on you when you will during his stay, and shall take your instructions in all matters.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

That was all; and on the land I would have been lying on the broad of my back, with a surgeon attending on me, and with strict injunctions to do nothing but rest.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Anne mentioned the glimpses she had had of him at Lyme, but without being much attended to.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

"Your directions shall be attended to, sir," said Miss Temple.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I expect my surveyor from Brockham with his report in the morning; and afterwards I cannot in decency fail attending the club.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

I meant you should attend to it, but I can do it better myself, and things here will get on very well with Brooke to manage them.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He began to wish to know more of her, and as a step towards conversing with her himself, attended to her conversation with others.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The virus was brought into Sierra Leone by 14 people who had been in nearby Guinea to attend the funeral of a traditional healer who had treated Ebola patients.

(Genetics of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak, NIH)