audience: Meaning and Definition of

au•di•ence

Pronunciation: (ô'dē-uns), [key]
— n.
  1. the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert: The audience was respectful of the speaker's opinion.
  2. the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public: Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.
  3. a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following: Every art form has its audience.
  4. opportunity to be heard; chance to speak to or before a person or group; a hearing.
  5. a formal interview with a sovereign, high officer of government, or other high-ranking person: an audience with the pope.
  6. the act of hearing, or attending to, words or sounds.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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