participant

participant — noun

1. someone who joins an activity, event, or study instead of only watching it

1.nounC1
Definition

someone who joins an activity, event, or study instead of only watching it

Example

Twenty study participants filled out the sleep survey after breakfast.

collocation: study participant

Each participant wore a name tag at the science fair.

determiner pattern: each participant

Common collocations
  • study participant
  • research participant
  • active participant
  • conference participant
  • participant list
Synonyms
  • attendee

    someone present at an event, but not always actively involved

  • member

    usually someone who belongs to a group over time, not just for one activity

  • competitor

    a participant in a contest or race, with a stronger idea of trying to win

  • volunteer

    a participant who offers help or time willingly, often without pay

Antonyms
  • observer

    someone who watches without joining in

  • spectator

    used especially for a person watching a game or performance

Grammar Patterns

participant in a study

participants in the event

active participant

Usage Note

Often followed by in when naming the activity, especially in formal contexts such as research, training, and meetings.

Common Mistakes

Ten audience members filled in the health survey.
Ten participants filled in the health survey.
Use participant for people who actively take part, not people who only watch or listen.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Participant is the broadest of these words for someone who joins an activity. It works for studies, meetings, classes, workshops, and many other situations. Attendee only tells you that a person was present at an event; it does not always suggest active involvement. Member usually means someone belongs to a group, club, or team over a longer time, not just for one event. Competitor is a narrower word for a participant in a game, race, or contest where people try to win. So you can say The workshop had fifty participants, but The workshop had fifty competitors would sound wrong unless it was a contest.

participant ↗attendeemember ↗competitor ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • study participant
  • research participant
  • conference participant
  • participant list

Phrases

  • each participant
  • every participant
  • active participant

Prepositions

  • participant in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Participant came into English through French from Latin. It is related to participate and goes back to Latin participare, meaning to share in or take part in something. The ending -ant is used for a person who does an action, so participant literally means a person who takes part.