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Glite Dictionary
to attend church

to attend church

15 1.9
Go to church regularly, usually for religious reasons
  • phrasal verb
  • /əˈtɛnd tʃɜːrtʃ/
: asistir a la iglesia
  • Many families in our community attend church every Sunday as part of their regular routine.
  • attend church regularly
  • attend church weekly
  • attend church services

Last question, how important is it to attend church in person versus online?

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Examples

  • African Americans were more likely than non-African Americans to attend church frequently.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Nancy McClure remembered that when she boarded with the Pettijohn family, she attended church every week.

    Academic text (2000)

  • And where did you say you attended church?

    War Room (2015)

  • - How often do you attend church?

    Kinsey (2004)

  • Do you not attend church?

    EverAfter (1998)

  • Do you attend church regularly, sir? - Of course I do.

    Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

  • Families routinely and regularly travel across the border to attend church in the United States.

    Academic text (2006)

  • One teen was encouraged by his mother to attend church with her so that he could meet more people.

    Academic text (2006)

  • I knew of no other boy in Falmouth who was required to attend church four times on Sundays.

    Academic text (2000)

  • She decided to attend church more often to connect with her faith.

Synonyms

to worship
vsto attend church
169 4.2

To show love and deep respect to a god by taking part in religious ceremonies

is a regular presence at religious services rather than general devotion

Antonyms

nonchurchgoing
7.2

A person who does not go to church regularly

How Devout

to attend church
15 1.9
to believe
∞ 1.5
Christian
697 1.4

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

attend + church

The meaning 'to go to church services' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'attend' (be present at) with 'church' (the place/service for Christian worship). This verb + place composition is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand the MWE.

Etymology

Attend church comes from the simple picture of people going to the church building to be present for a service. To attend means to be at something and church is the place, so the phrase now means 'to go to church services regularly'.