Meaning & use
audience
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Meanings
nouncountable
A group of people watching or listening to a performance, speech, film, or program.
Grammar: Countable for one group: The audience applauded. A plural form exists: audiences.
Patterns
- a live/theater/television audience
- audience of someone
- appeal to the audience
The audience grew quiet when the lights went down.
A small audience of students asked questions after the talk.
The comedian read the mood of the audience quickly.
nounusually singular
The people reached by a book, channel, website, or public message.
Grammar: Takes singular verb when treated as one readership or viewership: The audience is growing. Use audience segments for parts.
Patterns
- target audience
- wider/younger audience
- reach an audience
The podcast found a young audience through short clips.
Advertisers wanted a clearer target audience before buying slots.
Her newsletter reaches an audience of engineers and teachers.
nouncountableformal
A formal private meeting with a ruler, official, or other powerful person.
Grammar: Common pattern is an audience with someone: an audience with the ambassador.
Patterns
- an audience with someone
- grant an audience
- request an audience
The ambassador requested an audience with the foreign minister.
The author was granted an audience at the palace.
During the audience, the committee explained its concerns.
Word forms
| plural | audiences |
|---|
Common combinations
- captive audience
- On the delayed train, the salesman had a captive audience of tired commuters.
- target audience
- The target audience for the app is parents of young children.
- live audience
- The show records jokes in front of a live audience.
- global audience
- Streaming gave the film a global audience within days.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spectators
- Spectators are people watching an event, often sports or public displays; audience fits performances and media.
- viewers
- Viewers specifically watch television or screens; audience can listen, read, or attend.
- readership
- Readership means the people reading a publication; audience is broader across media.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: audience or audition?
audience vs audition
An audition is a tryout performance; an audience is the group that watches or the reached public.
Practice
Which sentence uses audience in the media sense?
Choose one answer.
Attract a younger audience means reaching viewers or listeners, not people in one hall. The other choices refer to a live crowd or a formal meeting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “audience”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.