attend

Less common meanings

6. 6
   be linkedverbtransitive

   Of something, especially something abstract, to come along with or follow as a result of something else.

   Considerable dangers attend the journey through the mountain pass.

   Uncertainty attended every decision the new government made.

   UsageOften in the passive with by or with: a journey attended by danger, a plan attended with risk.

   Note

   Something abstract, such as risk or consequence, travels alongside an action or a person. Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) gives a clear case, where Christian fears that destruction will attend him if he stays.

7. 7
   verbobsoletetransitive

   To give consideration to someone or something; to heed or regard.

   Similarmark, heed, consider, regard

   Oppositedisregard

   Note

   To heed or mind, with the object taken directly. Quarles's 'Attend thy footsteps when thou drawest near / The House of God' means watch your steps. Pope's Iliad uses it for maids who 'various tasks attend'. Mark and notice come close in meaning. The construction is obsolete, and heeding now takes to, as in paying attention to something. Source

   Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Francis Quarles wrote the quoted instruction to watch one's steps, in Solomons Recantation, Chapter V; the quotation modernizes the spelling. en.wiktionary.org
   • Pope's translation of the Iliad describes maids attending various tasks. gutenberg.org
8. 8
   listenverbarchaictransitive

   To listen carefully to someone or something.

   Avvay, I do condemne mine eares, that haue / So long attended thee.

   1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”

   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, The Iliad of Homer

   Note

   A poet's way of saying listen, with the thing heard as a direct object. Pope's Iliad has "thy suppliant Son attend", and Scott's Marmion has "my tale / Attend": in both lines the object comes first and the verb is a command. The same sense could also take to or unto. Plain modern English says listen to, and attend to now usually means dealing with something. Source

   Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Attend historically meant listen to, with a direct object. en.wiktionary.org
   • Pope's translation of the Iliad contains the quoted words. en.wikisource.org
   • Walter Scott's Marmion contains the quoted words across a line break. gutenberg.org
   • The listening sense also occurred with to or unto. en.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   verbobsoletetransitive

   To wait for someone or something, such as a decision or an expected event.

   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.”

   Note

   Waiting is the stuff of tragedy here. A character in Dryden's The Indian Emperour has promised 'to attend my Doom', and in Addison's Cato 'Rome attends her Fate'. The object can be a verdict, a fate or an event still to come, and sometimes a person. The use is archaic or obsolete. Modern English says await, which is close in both shape and meaning. Source

   Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • A character in John Dryden's The Indian Emperour says he promised to attend his doom; the speaker is Cortez. gutenberg.org
   • Joseph Addison's Cato contains the quoted words, spoken by Cato. en.wikisource.org
   • The waiting sense is archaic or obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    verbobsoletefigurativelytransitive

    Of a thing, to lie in wait for someone or be in store for them.

    Note

    Here the thing does the waiting: a fate or reward lies ahead for someone. Locke speaks of the happiness or misery 'that attends all Men after this Life'. It is easy to misread as the 'accompanying' sense, but here the fate does not go along with anyone; it waits for them, so await is the nearest synonym. The use is figurative and now archaic.

11. 11
    verbobsoleteintransitive

    To remain in a place and wait; to abide.

    The lady attended as if ſhe expected I ſhould go on.

    1768, Mr. Yorick [pseudonym; Laurence Sterne], “The Remise. Calais.”

    Note

    Waiting with no object at all. Sterne's A Sentimental Journey has 'The lady attended as if she expected I should go on', a pause held in conversation. Robert Abbot (1607) writes that God 'attendeth till we open him the gates'. Abide and remain are the equivalents. The use itself is archaic or obsolete. Source

    Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Laurence Sterne's A Sentimental Journey contains the quoted sentence, describing a pause in conversation. gutenberg.org
    • Robert Abbot's 1607 work contains the quoted wording about God waiting for people to open the gates. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    verbobsoleteintransitive

    To expect or look forward, used with 'for'.

    Note

    A rare intransitive cousin of the 'wait for' sense, in which for introduces what is looked for: one attends for a sign or a verdict. The construction is obsolete. Modern English would say look for or wait for. Source

    Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Attend has a rare intransitive sense meaning to expect or look forward, followed by for. en.wiktionary.org
13. 13
    verbobsolete

    To intend or mean something.

    Note

    Purpose is the surprise among these meanings. Middle English attenden could mean to intend to do something, alongside paying attention, serving and waiting. That meaning is now obsolete. When attend turns up in an old text where it points toward an aim, read it as intend. Source

    Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Middle English attenden included intending to do something among its meanings, alongside attention, service and expectation. en.wiktionary.org
    • Attend historically meant intend; this sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org