attend

/əˈtɛnd/

//əˈtɛnd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"attend" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“attend” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,714. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,714
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.

Corpus desk

Index EN-attend · attend · English

attend · rank #2,714 · 7 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,714
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH arrest

Nearest frequency peer: arrest (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “attend”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “attend” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

attend vs attest
67% similar
attend vs attuned
71% similar
attend vs attended
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for attend
PropertyValue
Headwordattend
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈtɛnd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,714
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “attend” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).attend lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around attend (IPA /əˈtɛnd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,714 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 22 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for attend, with forms such as "atend", "atetnd", and "attedn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "attest", "attuned", "attended", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 (so… The correct English form is attend, spelled A-T-T-E-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  2. 2
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  3. 3
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  4. 4
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  5. 5
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  6. 6
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  7. 7
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  8. 8
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  9. 9
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  10. 10
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  11. 11
    Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
  12. 12
    Senses relating to directing one's attention.
  13. 13
    Senses relating to directing one's attention.
  14. 14
    Senses relating to directing one's attention.
  15. 15
    Senses relating to directing one's attention.
  16. 16
    Senses relating to waiting for something.
  17. 17
    Senses relating to waiting for something.
  18. 18
    Senses relating to waiting for something.
  19. 19
    Senses relating to waiting for something.
  20. 20
    Senses relating to waiting for something.
  21. 21
    Senses relating to waiting for something.
  22. 22
    To intend (something).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how attend appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The fift [beadsman] had charge ſick perſons to attend, / And comfort thoſe, in point of death vvhich lay; […]
  2. VVe had at this Time a great many frightful Stories told us of Nurſes and VVatchmen, vvho looked after the dying People, that is to ſay, hir'd Nurſes, vvho attended infected People, uſing them barbarouſly, ſtarving them, ſmothering them, or by other vvicked Means, haſtening their End, that is to ſay, murthering of them: […]

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

acudir(Español)assister(Français)besuchen(Deutsch)assistir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atend
  • atetnd
  • attedn
  • attendd
  • attennd
  • attned
  • tatend

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of attend - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

atend1atetnd2attedn2attendd1attennd1attned2tatend2
Edit distance from "attend"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "attend"?
"attend" is spelled A-T-T-E-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈtɛnd/.
What does "attend" mean?
As a verb, "attend" means: Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying or being present.
What words are commonly confused with "attend"?
"attend" is commonly confused with "attest", "attuned", "attended". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "attend"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "attend" is /əˈtɛnd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "attend"?
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... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "attend", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

arrest#2,713Amazon#2,712agents#2,711carbon#2,717

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

chose7 variantsrooms7 variantsmanner7 variantsKevin7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "attend". Here's where to go from here.

  • "attend" maps to 10 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "attest". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,714 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list