attending
1 of 2adjective
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 2noun
: 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
Atul Gawande
Synonyms
Adjective
- in
- present
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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 Christina Dugan Ramirez, Peoplemag, 6 Sep. 2022 Sadly, Devon begins to bleed out when Schmidt chooses not to wait on an attending, as the method teaches, and begins dissection by himself. Lincee Ray, EW.com, 17 Dec. 2021 My assessment skills at Memorial Hermann Hospital began improving when I was allowed to follow Dr. Richard Smalling, the attending, during his rounds with resident physicians. Alice Adams, Houston Chronicle, 4 May 2020 Things can’t run without our labor, but the hospital also views us as cheap—cheaper than attendings. Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 24 Mar. 2020 Their appearance in the States will negate their attending of South Korean broadcaster MBC’s annual year-end Gayo Daejejun. Tamar Herman, Billboard, 18 Dec. 2019 Scholarships available: The Kiwanis Club of Avon Lake offers scholarships for any Avon Lake senior in high school (regardless of school attending). cleveland, 31 Jan. 2020 For example, over 95 percent of attendings observed in cardiothoracic surgery were men. Orly Nadell Farber, STAT, 2 July 2018 But also on the secondary part, Kim Jong-un recognizes the symbolism of his attending of the summit is as complicated as some of the concessions that he might be expected to make. Fox News, 25 May 2018 See More
Noun
And the footage might remind fans of a thing or two from the show's original pilot — including a resident who's already slept with an attending. Christina Dugan Ramirez, Peoplemag, 6 Sep. 2022 Sadly, Devon begins to bleed out when Schmidt chooses not to wait on an attending, as the method teaches, and begins dissection by himself. Lincee Ray, EW.com, 17 Dec. 2021 My assessment skills at Memorial Hermann Hospital began improving when I was allowed to follow Dr. Richard Smalling, the attending, during his rounds with resident physicians. Alice Adams, Houston Chronicle, 4 May 2020 Things can’t run without our labor, but the hospital also views us as cheap—cheaper than attendings. Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 24 Mar. 2020 Their appearance in the States will negate their attending of South Korean broadcaster MBC’s annual year-end Gayo Daejejun. Tamar Herman, Billboard, 18 Dec. 2019 Scholarships available: The Kiwanis Club of Avon Lake offers scholarships for any Avon Lake senior in high school (regardless of school attending). cleveland, 31 Jan. 2020 For example, over 95 percent of attendings observed in cardiothoracic surgery were men. Orly Nadell Farber, STAT, 2 July 2018 But also on the secondary part, Kim Jong-un recognizes the symbolism of his attending of the summit is as complicated as some of the concessions that he might be expected to make. Fox News, 25 May 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
1904, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1906, in the meaning defined above
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
Geogy Thomas, The Los Angeles TimesIf 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
Lawrence O. Gostin, The Journal of the American Medical Associationattending
2 of 2noun
: 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
Abraham Verghese, The New England Journal of MedicineIn 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
Atul Gawande, The New Yorkerattending 1 of 3
adjective
1
as in present
being within the confines of a specified place a surprise arrest of the operator of an illegal gambling joint and all attending employees Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- present
- participating
- in
- available
- at hand
- on hand
- in attendance
- observing
- accompanying
- existing
- live
- breathing
- latent
- existent
- abounding
- extant
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- absent
- missing
- gone
- retired
- out
- departed
- away
- deceased
- truant
- late
- dead
- nonexistent
- defunct
- lost
- delinquent
- delayed
- vanished
- belated
- tardy
- overdue
- AWOL
- demised
2
as in accompanying
present at the same time and place dislikes flying and all of its attending inconveniences Synonyms & Similar Words
- accompanying
- attendant
- associated
- concurrent
- concomitant
- related
- coexisting
- subsequent
- following
- connected
- ensuing
- resulting
- coincidental
- linked
- simultaneous
- coincident
- coexistent
- chance
- contemporaneous
- contemporary
- consequent
- synchronous
- resultant
- incident
- collateral
- incidental
- freak
- accidental
- fortuitous
- casual
- flukey
- fluky
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unrelated
- unconnected
- unassociated
attending
2 of 3noun
as in physician
Synonyms & Similar Words
- physician
- doctor
- clinician
- hospitalist
- medic
- family doctor
- family practitioner
- doc
- resident
- neurologist
- pathologist
- specialist
- obstetrician
- ophthalmologist
- medico
- family physician
- pediatrician
- gynecologist
- radiologist
- anesthesiologist
- dermatologist
- optometrist
- podiatrist
- surgeon
- pediatrist
- urologist
- nurse
- internist
- sawbones
- orthopedist
- physiatrist
- general practitioner
- aidman
- plastic surgeon
- intern
- paramedic
- ob-gyn
- interne
- croaker
- paramedical
- nurse-practitioner
- EMT
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- nonphysician
- nondoctor
attending
3 of 3verb
1
as in escorting
to go along with in order to provide assistance, protection, or companionship a passel of assistants attend the movie star wherever she goes Synonyms & Similar Words
- accompanying
- escorting
- chaperoning
- seeing
- bringing
- convoying
- squiring
- walking
- companioning
- companying
- guiding
- protecting
- following
- conducting
- defending
- ushering
- leading
- associating
- consorting
- guarding
- piloting
- steering
- shadowing
- tailing
- tagging
- tagging along
- palling (around)
- teaming (up)
- hanging (around)
- hovering (over)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- abandoning
- dumping
- deserting
- ditching
- forsaking
2
as in listening
to pay attention especially through the act of hearing I'm sorry, but all the noise means I'm having a hard time attending to the conversation Synonyms & Similar Words
- listening
- hearing
- heeding
- hearkening
- harking
- harkening
- harkening
- minding
- pricking up one's ears
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- ignoring
- disregarding
- discounting
- tuning out
3
as in watching
to take charge of especially on behalf of another tired of attending other people's children, the nanny was eager to have a child of her own Synonyms & Similar Words
- watching
- supervising
- overseeing
- managing
- tending
- conducting
- operating
- controlling
- protecting
- superintending
- running
- guarding
- looking after
- minding
- guiding
- governing
- administrating
- seeing to
- directing
- seeing after
- taking care of
- regulating
- chaperoning
- patrolling
- shepherding
- safeguarding
- babysitting
- stewarding
- caring (for)
- shielding
- mothering
- babying
- presiding (over)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- ignoring
- forgetting
- neglecting
- abandoning
- disregarding
- passing over
4
as in coinciding
to occur or exist at the same time all the pomp and circumstance that attend the opening of the Olympic Games Synonyms & Similar Words
- accompanying
- coinciding
- happening
- synchronizing
- coexisting
- transpiring
- happing
- chancing
- co-occurring
- concurring
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- preceding
- following
- succeeding
- antedating
- predating