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

Some of us suspected this was coming last year when Jules got all starstruck over the cardio attendings and later told Winston off for being dismissive about professional cuddlers. —Laura Bradley, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025

Wyle, a five-time Emmy nominee for his role as Dr. John Carter, plays a different ER attending, Dr. Michael Robinavitch (aka Dr. Robby). —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 9 Apr. 2025

Again left without any available attendings, our residents and members of the First Day Club are left to figure this out on their own. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025

After the kid was saved, Beltran scolded the resident, reminding her not to bring her personal life into the ER — or her attending’s. —Charlie Mason, TVLine, 27 Mar. 2025

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