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Glite Dictionary
🏢 To be present 🛠️ To deal with 👀 To pay attention ➕ To accompany 🩺 To care for
to attend

to attend

13 7.2
To serve or help someone, often as part of a job
  • verb
  • /əˈtɛnd/
  • Formal
translation icon : asistir
  • Dr. Lancaster attended the pregnant woman.
  • attending physician
  • attend births
  • attended by midwives

And we find that Moss the village witch attends to what is called the homing of the dead off into the burial.

Examples

  • Nor did she have trouble finding the resident attending to her care.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Dallas, initially despised by Lucy Mallory, attends her faithfully during her labor and delivery.

    Academic text (1999)

  • We called him to attend my father, who had a sudden attack of shock.

    Black Sunday (1977)

  • You know, women attended the wounded.

  • - Attend to Mr. Majors, Nurse.

    Shock Treatment (1981)

  • Doctor Garrett will be the physician attending to John.

    Breakthrough (2019)

  • Attending physician says the rag was treated with some kind of toxin.

    A Few Good Men (1992)

  • The staff will attend to your requests throughout your stay at the hotel.

  • She has trained for years to attend to patients' needs as a professional nurse.

  • During the ceremony, the assistant was there to attend to the guests at all times.

Synonyms

to serve
vsto attend
∞ 1.7

To work for someone or act in an official role, often in the military

is specifically about being a servant or helper within assigned duties
to see
vsto attend
∞ 3.9

To go with someone to the door or their car as a courtesy

is focused on being a helper in duties rather than brief courtesy accompaniment
to assist
vsto attend
605 1.0

To help someone by making a task easier

involves formal duty as a helper rather than occasional help
to act as
vsto attend
199 2.6

Serve in the role of a person or thing

focuses on being a helper with duty tasks rather than any role
to attend to
vsto attend
151 3.6

To take care of someone or something

is about being a servant in duty rather than only giving care
to wait on
vsto attend
20 3.4

To serve people at a table by bringing food or drinks

is broader covering general helper duties beyond table service
to serve as an escort
vsto attend
  • Formal
4.1

To go with a person like an ambassador to protect or show respect

is general duty work not limited to formal accompanying or protection

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

Phrasal Verbs

to attend to
151 3.6

To take care of someone or something

to attend church
15 1.9

Go to church regularly, usually for religious reasons

How Helpful

to care for
347 1.0
to attend
  • Formal
13 7.2
assist
33 1.8
to wait on
20 3.4

Surface Forms

attend infinitive
attended past
attended past participle
attending present participle
attends third person singular

Morphology

attend = tend (semi-transparent) = at + tend

The sense 'act as a servant / helper' is related to 'tend' (care for / wait on) and so some learners will see the connection, but the service-oriented nuance may not be fully obvious.

Etymology

Attend can mean to serve or help someone and is related to tend 'to look after' and attendant. Picture a person going to another to help them, and you will remember that to attend someone is to act as their helper.