attending

1 of 2

adjective

at·​tend·​ing ə-ˈten-diŋ 

: serving as a physician or surgeon on the staff of a hospital or similar health care facility and having primary responsibility over the treatment of a patient and often supervising treatment given by interns, residents, and fellows

an attending physician

attending staff

attending

2 of 2

noun

: an attending physician or surgeon

In the hospital, he had been cared for by a full team of cardiologists, ranging from fellows in specialty training to attendings who had practiced for decades.

—Atul Gawande

Synonyms of attending

Adjective

• present

Examples of attending in a Sentence

Adjective

a surprise arrest of the operator of an illegal gambling joint and all attending employees

dislikes flying and all of its attending inconveniences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The watch party near the Garden has become a major event all through the playoffs, but with Trump attending, that event was moved a few blocks away outside the security perimeter, at Bryant Park. — Stephen Whyno, Fortune, 9 June 2026

Nearly everything The Pitt revealed about Al-Hashimi has been filtered through Robby’s reaction to it, from her ethnic name to her time with international NGOs to her desire to hire two attendings for the daytime shift. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026

Episode 15 picks right up with the revelation that the Pitt’s new senior attending is experiencing a resurgence of absence seizures she’s battled since a childhood case of viral meningitis. — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 17 Apr. 2026

Without looking away from the case manager’s direction, Robby flips his middle finger at the other attending. — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1904, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for attending

• amending
• appending
• ascending
• befriending
• commending
• contending
• defending
• depending
• descending
• distending
• expending
• extending

Medical Definition

attending

1 of 2 adjective

at·​tend·​ing ə-ˈtend-iŋ 

: serving as a physician or surgeon on the staff of a hospital or similar health care facility and having primary responsibility over the treatment of a patient and often supervising treatment given by interns, residents, and fellows

The attending staff is also expected to teach and mentor the residents during their training.

—Geogy Thomas, The Los Angeles Times

If such a patient lacks a reasonably available surrogate, an attending physician may issue a do-not-resuscitate order with judicial approval or with the written concurrence of another physician …

—Lawrence O. Gostin, The Journal of the American Medical Association

attending

2 of 2 noun

: an attending physician or surgeon

Being the attending on a teaching service nowadays requires visiting once or twice daily, being present for procedures, and documenting everything.

—Abraham Verghese, The New England Journal of Medicine

In the hospital, he had been cared for by a full team of cardiologists, ranging from fellows in specialty training to attendings who had practiced for decades.

—Atul Gawande, The New Yorker