attendant

1 of 2

noun

at·​ten·​dant ə-ˈten-dənt How to pronounce attendant (audio)
1
: one who attends another to perform a service
the bride and her attendants
especially : an employee who waits on customers
a gas-station attendant
2
: something that accompanies : concomitant
the sword, ring, armor, and other attendants of knighthood
3
: attendee
attendants at the festival

attendant

2 of 2

adjective

1
: accompanying, waiting upon, or following in order to perform service
Cherub and Seraph … attendant on their LordJohn Milton
2
: accompanying or following as a consequence or result
problems attendant on pollution
civilization and its attendant moralityRobert Stone

Example Sentences

Noun She let the parking attendant park her car. let the hotel attendant help them with their bags Adjective The town is trying to deal with the population boom and the attendant increase in traffic. dreaded the coming flu season and the attendant flood of school absences
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Customers in 20 rural counties would be able to pump their own gas at any time regardless of whether an attendant is on site. Julia Shumway, oregonlive, 20 Mar. 2023 Travelers staying in a Roomette get complimentary meals and access to a dedicated first-class attendant, priority boarding, and lounge. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2023 An in-home care attendant funded by the Wounded Warrior Project reported picking up her dog’s feces, something that was not in the job description. Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Mar. 2023 Not able to enter the party due to engaging conversations, Kimmel seemed joyfully relieved when an attendant procured a glass of red wine. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2023 Amid the tangle of concrete and steel, there is a welcome tent with a young attendant. Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Mar. 2023 Months later, Kenny and Irene watched the movie at the AMC Burbank with their daughter and a longtime laundry attendant and his wife. Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2023 Police also say a bathroom attendant was dealing drugs and selling bottles of Hennessy after hours from a stash hidden under the garbage bag in the women's restroom trash can. Alexandria Burris, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Feb. 2023 To purchase the ticket, the customer has to present a photo of the passport of the would-be Cuban traveler, as well as the passenger’s vaccination certificate, according to an attendant. José De Córdoba, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2022
Adjective
The Huntington shut down after a spate of financial challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant effects on tourism. Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2023 Each year, the concept of pi seems to grow annually in crossover popularity, via memes, novelty T-shirts, and all the attendant hoopla around Pi Day. WIRED, 14 Mar. 2023 Some of the presentations were held over Zoom, with all the attendant technical glitches. Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023 This grand design, naturally, would demand an attendant burst of charger development. IEEE Spectrum, 11 Mar. 2023 Limited government is cast aside, as spending and attendant regulation increasingly displace not just private business activity but ordinary household roles and functions. Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023 But the attendant humiliations of serving as vice president have not hampered a lot of political careers. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 20 Feb. 2023 It’s got the largest port, some of the largest Amazon fulfillment centers and largest attendant fleet of delivery vans, and all of the above are increasingly automated and algorithmically directed. Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2023 Yet in recent decades, surging human populations—and their attendant domestic chickens—have steadily encroached on once-wild spaces frequented by the junglefowl. Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Jan. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'attendant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

see attend

Adjective

see attend

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of attendant was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near attendant

Cite this Entry

“Attendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attendant. Accessed 28 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

attendant

1 of 2 adjective
at·​ten·​dant ə-ˈten-dənt How to pronounce attendant (audio)
: accompanying or following as a result

attendant

2 of 2 noun
1
: one who goes with or serves another
a bride and her attendants
2
: an employee who waits on customers
a gas station attendant

Medical Definition

attendant

noun
at·​ten·​dant ə-ˈten-dənt How to pronounce attendant (audio)
: a person who attends another to perform a service
ward attendants

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