Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Audience \Au"di*ence\, n. [F. audience, L. audientia, fr. audire
   to hear. See {Audible}, a.]
   1. The act of hearing; attention to sounds.

            Thou, therefore, give due audience, and attend.
                                                  --Milton.

   2. Admittance to a hearing; a formal interview, esp. with a
      sovereign or the head of a government, for conference or
      the transaction of business.

            According to the fair play of the world, Let me have
            audience: I am sent to speak.         --Shak.

   3. An auditory; an assembly of hearers. Also applied by
      authors to their readers.

            Fit audience find, though few.        --Milton.

            He drew his audience upward to the sky. --Dryden.

   {Court of audience}, or {Audience court} (Eng.), a court long
      since disused, belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury;
      also, one belonging to the Archbishop of York. --Mozley &
      W.

   {In general} (or {open}) {audience}, publicly.

   {To give audience}, to listen; to admit to an interview.

Source : WordNet®

audience
     n 1: a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public)
          performance; "the audience applauded"; "someone in the
          audience began to cough"
     2: the part of the general public interested in a source of
        information or entertainment; "every artist needs an
        audience"; "the broadcast reached an audience of millions"
     3: an opportunity to state your case and be heard; "they
        condemned him without a hearing"; "he saw that he had lost
        his audience" [syn: {hearing}]
     4: a conference (usually with someone important); "he had a
        consultation with the judge"; "he requested an audience
        with the king" [syn: {consultation}, {interview}]