What does "attend" mean?

1. (to be present at) to go to or be present at an event, meeting, or school. 2. (to deal with or listen) to give your attention to something or someone. 3. (to look after) to look after someone or provide what they need. 4. (to accompany) to go with someone, often as a helper or a result of something.

attend — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "I attended to the meeting yesterday."?

No — say "I attended the meeting yesterday.". When you mean 'to go to an event', do not use 'to'. You attend the event directly.

Word

01to be present at

A2 · Elementary

v. to go to or be present at an event, meeting, or school.

v. to be present at an event, meeting, or institution. Transitive in modern usage, though it can imply regular presence as in schooling.

“All students must attend the graduation ceremony next Friday.”

“The CEO is expected to attend the international summit to discuss the new environmental regulations with other industry leaders.”

Pitfall

I attended to the meeting yesterday.

I attended the meeting yesterday.

When you mean 'to go to an event', do not use 'to'. You attend the event directly.

Synonyms

go to visitbe present

Antonyms

miss skip

02to deal with or listen

B2 · Upper Intermediate Formal

v. to give your attention to something or someone.

v. to direct one's attention or efforts toward a task, person, or problem. Intransitive; almost always takes the preposition 'to'.

“I have a few urgent emails to attend to before we leave.”

“The doctor had to attend to several emergency cases before he could begin his scheduled appointments for the afternoon.”

Usage

Always used with the preposition 'to' in this sense.

Synonyms

address handle heed

Antonyms

ignore neglect

03to look after

C1 · Advanced Formal

v. to look after someone or provide what they need.

v. to provide service to or look after the needs of someone. Often used in the context of service staff or medical professionals.

“The flight crew will attend to your needs during the long flight.”

“The royal party was attended by a large group of assistants who managed every detail of the journey.”

Synonyms

serve tend nurse

Antonyms

abandon ignore

04to accompany

C2 · Proficiency Literary · Formal

v. to go with someone, often as a helper or a result of something.

v. to accompany as a companion, assistant, or consequence. Often used in literary or formal contexts to describe things that happen together.

“The king was attended by his most loyal guards.”

“The sudden change in policy was attended by much public debate and several large protests in the capital.”

Synonyms

accompany escort follow

attend vs assist

Assist means to help someone, while attend means to be present at an event.

RememberAssist = Aid; Attend = At the event.

PIE word *h₂éd From Middle English attenden, atenden (“to devote oneself (to a task, etc.); to pay attention to (something), to look after; to consider (something); to expect or look forward to (something); to intend to do (something); to help or serve (someone), attend upon; to take care of (something)”), from Old French atendre (“to await, wait for; to expect; to intend”), from Latin attendere, adtendere (“to pay attention to, attend; to direct or turn toward”), from ad- (“prefix meaning ‘to, towards’”) + tendō (“to direct one’s course; to extend, stretch; to exert, strive”). Doublet of attempt and tend.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

attend(A2)

NOUN

ADJECTIVE