ATTEND TO

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does attend to mean? 

• ATTEND TO (verb)
  The verb ATTEND TO has 2 senses:

1. get down to; pay attention to; take seriously

2. work for or be a servant to

  Familiarity information: ATTEND TO used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ATTEND TO (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get down to; pay attention to; take seriously

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

attend to; take to heart

Context example:

Attend to your duties, please

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

bear in mind; mind (keep in mind)

Sentence frames:

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

Antonym:

neglect (leave undone or leave out)

Sense 2

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 to" 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 to"):

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

Sentence example:

Sam cannot attend to Sue

 Context examples 

Meg is happy, Brooke will fly round and get settled immediately, Grandpa will attend to him, and it will be very jolly to see Meg in her own little house.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I have myself some small business matters to attend to.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I told the messenger to say that I would attend to his wishes in the morning; I was busy just at the moment.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

"I have been careless. It will be one of the first things I attend to."

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“Oh, master says he'll attend to it immediate,” was the reply.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Hope was over, entirely over; and when Jane could attend to the rest of the letter, she found little, except the professed affection of the writer, that could give her any comfort.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

When he did come down, it was to attend to business: his agent and some of his tenants were arrived, and waiting to speak with him.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I cannot make her attend to the value of the property.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Miss Bates had just done as Patty opened the door; and her visitors walked upstairs without having any regular narration to attend to, pursued only by the sounds of her desultory good-will.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Mendoza and Dutch Sam were commissioned to attend to Berks, while Belcher and Jack Harrison did the same for Boy Jim.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)