attendance
Pluralattendances (some meanings)
- 1The act of being present, or the state of presence, at a place or event.
Regular attendance at rehearsals is expected of all cast members.
Her attendance at the conference was noted by the organizers.
Similarpresence, appearance, participation
Oppositeabsence
Note
The phrase to know here is in attendance, meaning simply "present": all those in attendance, the Duke of Cambridge also in attendance. It suits formal notices and official occasions. As a bare subject, the noun often states a rule, as in attendance is required. The word came through Middle English from Old French atendance, built on atendre, "to attend, listen."
All those in attendance are to sign this slip.
The Duke of Cambridge was also in attendance.
- 2The people present, or the number of people present, at an event or gathering.
Attendance topped ten thousand at the summer festival.
Officials reported a record attendance for this year's parade.
Similarturnout, crowd, audience, gate
Note
A teacher takes attendance: the phrase means recording who is present, and it belongs to classrooms and roll calls. When the crowd is counted, the noun takes an article and a number, as in an attendance of more than 380 participants. Keep it apart from a person's record of showing up: this sense describes a gathering, never one individual's habits.
- 3How regularly a person has been present for a recurring activity or series of events.
Her perfect attendance earned her an award at the end of the year.
Employees with poor attendance may face a formal review.
Oppositeabsenteeism
Less common meaning
- 4Attention paid to something; careful regard for a matter or duty.
The physician's diligent attendance to his patient won wide praise.
The matter required his immediate attendance.
1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain CharleyNote
Here the old "listen" meaning of the root still shows: attendance as the mind's notice rather than the body's presence. E. J. Guerin's Mountain Charley (1861) says a matter "required his immediate attendance," where a modern writer would say attention. Today readers take the word as physical presence, so use attention in new writing and keep this sense for reading older texts.
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Origin
From Middle English attendance, from Old French atendance, which derives from atendre ("to attend, listen").