From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishaudienceau‧di‧ence /ˈɔːdiəns $ ˈɒː-, ˈɑː-/ ●●● S2 W2 noun 1 [countable]LISTENWATCH a group of people who come to watch and listen to someone speaking or performing in public The audience began clapping and cheering.audience of an audience of 250 business people One member of the audience described the opera as ‘boring’.2 [countable also + plural verb] British EnglishTCB the people who watch or listen to a particular programme, or who see or hear a particular artist’s, writer’s etc work The show attracts a regular audience of about 20 million.target audience (=the type of people that a programme, advertisement etc is supposed to attract) Goya was one of the first painters to look for a wider audience for his work. The book is not intended for a purely academic audience.3 [countable]MEET a formal meeting with a very important personaudience with He was granted an audience with the Pope.COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: a group of people who come to watch and listen to someone speaking or performing in publicverbsperform/play to an audienceThe band played to huge audiences in Mexico City and Buenos Aires.an audience laughsHe has the ability to make an audience laugh.an audience clapsMost of the audience clapped but a few people jeered.an audience cheersThe audience cheered loudly when he came on stage. the audience boosShe swore at the audience and they began to boo her.adjectivesa capacity/packed audience (=the largest number of people who can fit into a hall, theatre etc)The lecture attracted a capacity audience.an enthusiastic audienceThey drew enthusiastic audiences at Europe's biggest rock festival.NOUN + audiencestadium audiencesCeline Dion's tour continues to play to sold-out stadium audiences across Europe. COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: the people who watch or listen to a particular programme, or who see or hear a particular artist’s, writer’s etc workverbshave an audienceThe programme has a massive audience, ranging from children to grandparents.attract an audience (=make people want to watch)The first show attracted a television audience of more than 2 million.reach an audienceFor an advertiser who wants to reach a large audience, television news easily surpasses other news media.appeal to an audience (=be interesting to them)They brought new fashions into their designs to appeal to a wider audience.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + audiencea large/huge etc audienceMessages posted on the Internet can attract a huge audience.a wide audiencean author who commands a wide audiencea worldwide audienceThe game has an ever-increasing worldwide audience.a young/teenage audiencea magazine with a young audiencean older audienceThe programme mainly appeals to an older audience.a mass audience (=a very large number of people)Radio brought entertainment to a mass audience.a television audience (=all the people who watch or listen to a particular programme)Nearly half the UK television audience watched the programme last Tuesday.the target audience (=the type of people a programme etc aims to attract)The target audience is mostly men aged 28 to 35. GRAMMAR: Singular or plural verb?• Audience is usually followed by a singular verb: The audience was cheering and shouting.• In British English, you can also use a plural verb: The audience were cheering and shouting.
Examples from the Corpus
audience• We will continue to advertise, and try to improve it, and build an audience.• I'm not sure that this film will appeal to British audiences.• MTV's core audience is 18 to 24 year olds.• These two programs are both news and current affairs, but they cater for very different audiences.• The program has an estimated audience of 5 million households.• The ad was inappropriate for a family audience.• In a half-hour audience the King's new National Government was created.• He wrote with a particular audience in mind and therefore emphasised the points of interest most suited to that audience.• WMLD's audience is mainly young and black.• The show has delighted television audiences in the United States and Britain.• Actors, wearing masks, came down among the audience.• Some of the 250 people in the audience told the Post they believed the jokes were too harsh.• There seemed to be quite a lot of young people in the audience.• The second comedian really made the audience laugh.• In their presence, the audience could feel its civilized surface annulled and replaced by a consoling sense of unity with nature.• The audience is invited to a celebrity reception following the reading.• The audience consisted mainly of young girls under sixteen.• The audience danced and clapped and swayed to the music.• Your audience will be confused over it and that will give you a chance to think of something.member of the audience• Overhead lights crashed to the auditorium floor and members of the audience bolted for exits.• The accent is on participation and members of the audience are invited on stage to help illustrate songs.• It's enough to give every member of the audience paranoia.• If members of the audience introduced themselves, use some of the information you gleaned during your speech.• Some members of the audience applauded it.• The members of the audience were asked to watch the film closely as they would be asked questions about it afterwards.• It will be a 90-minute meeting in which members of the audience will pose questions to the candidates.a wider audience• Businesses and publications are leaving on-line services for the Internet as a way to reach a wider audience.• Curtis, who rates an above-average 32, seems like the better choice to appeal to a wider audience.• Dave Thomas, spokesman for the band, said it was a good opportunity for the band to reach a wider audience.• It is being incorporated into the World Wide Web browsers such as NetScape, giving it a wider audience.• Papyrus enabled the ancients to spread their religion to a wider audience.• The debate is a profound one and it is only just beginning to reach out to a wider audience.• The series of four concerts aims to bring classical music to a wider audience, although the tickets aren't cheap.granted ... audience• The delegates had to return without the satisfaction of having been granted an audience.• At the end of the conference the participants were granted an audience with the Pope.• We were granted an audience with the Pope.From Longman Business Dictionaryaudienceau‧di‧ence /ˈɔːdiənsˈɒː-, ˈɑː-/ noun [countable] the number or kind of people who watch or listen to something that is broadcast on radio or television, or listen to a particular type of musicThe ad was broadcast on all major channels, giving it an audience of millions. → core audience → target audienceOrigin audience (1300-1400) French Latin audientia “hearing”, from audire; → AUDIO 