audience

audience — noun

1. the people who are there watching or listening while a performance, film, or spe

1.nounB1
Definition

the people who are there watching or listening while a performance, film, or speech happens

Example

The school band played to a cheerful audience in the town square.

play to an audience

When Dr. Lin finished, the audience stayed quiet for a moment.

Common collocations
  • live audience
  • studio audience
  • small audience
  • full audience
  • audience member
Synonyms
  • crowd

    less specific and does not always suggest people are watching or listening

  • spectators

    fits events people mainly watch, especially sports

  • listeners

    fits cases where hearing matters more than seeing

  • attendees

    means people present at an event, not necessarily focused on a performance

Grammar Patterns

play to an audience

an audience of + number

audience member

Usage Note

Often appears with words about size or mood, such as large, small, quiet, or excited. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about the regular public for media or writing, not the people physically present at one event.

Common Mistakes

There were many audiences at the school play.
There was a large audience at the school play.
one performance usually has one audience, even if many people are in it.

2. the people a book, show, website, or speaker is meant to reach or actually reach

2.nounB2
Definition

the people a book, show, website, or speaker is meant to reach or actually reaches

Example

Mia's cooking channel built a young audience with one-minute lunch videos.

build an audience

The baseball podcast now has a loyal audience among train commuters across Taiwan.

Common collocations
  • target audience
  • core audience
  • wider audience
  • global audience
  • online audience
Synonyms
  • public

    broader and less tied to one work, channel, or message

  • readership

    only fits readers, especially of books, newspapers, or magazines

  • viewership

    focuses on people who watch screen content

  • following

    suggests regular supporters, often online or around a public figure

Grammar Patterns

reach an audience

find an audience

audience for + product or message

Usage Note

Often appears with reach, attract, build, grow, and target. Distinguish from sense 1, which is the crowd actually in front of a performer or speaker at one time.

Common Mistakes

The show has many audiences in Japan.
The show has a large audience in Japan.
when you mean one body of viewers or listeners, audience is usually singular.

3. an official meeting arranged with a ruler, leader, or other important person

3.nounC1
Definition

an official meeting arranged with a ruler, leader, or other important person

Example

The ambassador requested an audience with the king before sunset.

audience with + person

After weeks of letters, Rosa finally gained an audience with the mayor.

gain an audience

Common collocations
  • audience with the king
  • grant an audience
  • seek an audience
  • royal audience
Synonyms
  • meeting

    the general word and much less formal

  • interview

    often suggests a question-and-answer purpose

  • reception

    can mean a more public or ceremonial welcome

Grammar Patterns

have an audience with somebody

grant somebody an audience

seek an audience with somebody

Usage Note

Common in very formal or historical writing, especially in the pattern have an audience with + important person. It does not usually mean an ordinary business meeting or casual visit.

Common Mistakes

I had an audience to the minister yesterday.
I had an audience with the minister yesterday.
this sense normally uses the preposition with.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For sense 1, audience is the best general word for the people watching or listening at a live event. Crowd is broader and can describe any large group, even one not paying attention. Spectators fits events people mainly watch, such as sports or street performances. Listeners is better when sound matters more than sight, for example on a radio show or at a lecture behind a screen. Viewers usually means people watching on television or online, so it often fits sense 2 better than sense 1. At a school play, the parents in the hall are the audience. At home later, the people streaming the video are viewers.

audience ↗crowd ↗spectatorslistenersviewers

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a large audience
  • attract an audience

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Audience came into English through French from a Latin word meaning a hearing or listening. The oldest idea behind it is people hearing someone speak. From that, English developed both the sense of people listening or watching together and the formal sense of being admitted to an important person's presence.