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

Adjective

• in
• 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

Such jobs include roles in business management, teaching, customer care, legal work, health care, social media management, consulting, sales, flight attending, public relations and politics. —Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 5 July 2024

The Met Gala, which happens on the first Monday of May, is not only a huge event for the celebs attending but is also monumental for the fashion designers who are creating their looks. —Brittany Natale, Redbook, 1 May 2023

But the promise that life gets better after residency falls short: Some of my attendings, compassionate and brilliant educators, are burned out or work extra jobs to make ends meet in a high cost-of-living city. —Minali Nigam, STAT, 21 Apr. 2023

White opposition to her attending was so intense that federal marshals had to escort her in and out of the school every day. —Tori Otten, The New Republic, 27 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1904, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1906, in the meaning defined above

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