accompany

verb

ac·com·pa·ny ə-ˈkəmp-nē

-ˈkämp-;

-ˈkəm-pə-,

-ˈkäm-

accompanied; accompanying

Synonyms of accompany next

transitive verb

: to go with as an associate or companion

She accompanied me to the store.

: to perform an accompaniment to or for

He will be accompanying her on the piano.

: to cause to be in association

accompanied their advice with a warning

: to be in association with

the pictures that accompany the text

intransitive verb

music : to perform an accompaniment

Examples of accompany in a Sentence

She will accompany me to the store. Ten adults accompanied the class on their field trip. Children under 17 must be accompanied by an adult to see this movie. A delicious sauce accompanied the grilled fish. He will be accompanying her on the piano.

Recent Examples on the Web Led by North Carolina songwriter Aaron Dowdy and accompanied by local guests like Indigo De Souza and MJ Lenderman, the indie rock band gravitates toward slow builds and singalong choruses, chiming pedal steel and driving rhythms. —

Pitchfork, 28 Sep. 2023 Vegan customers will be able to request a vegan nacho sauce to accompany the fries starting on Oct. 12. —

Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 28 Sep. 2023 To accompany her oversized, three-piece pinstriped suiting—replete with a crisp, buttoned-to-the-top white shirt—Anderson opted to let her natural skin shine, visible freckles, naturally luminosity, and all. —

Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2023 While artists like Marina and the Diamonds and Lana Del Rey established hyper-specific visual aesthetics to accompany their music, many other figures in alternative and indie pop’s royal court opted for minimalism. —

Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023 Riders must be at least 18 years old unless accompanied by an adult. —

Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2023 Reliable shoes are a traveler’s greatest companion, crucial for not only fully savoring a trip, but also navigating the unpredictability that sometimes accompanies travel. —

Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2023 Can Arm shares build on the surge that accompanied the chip designer's stock-market debut Thursday? —

Anna Hirtenstein, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2023 The habits that accompany being a coach’s daughter became evident throughout her playing career. —

Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 15 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'accompany.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English accompanien "to make (someone) a companion or associate, be in company with, attend," borrowed from Anglo-French acumpainer, acompaigner "to join together, frequent, keep the company of," from a-, prefix forming transitive verbs (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + cumpaing, cumpaignun companion entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of accompany was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Accompany.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accompany. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

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Kids Definition

accompany

verb

ac·com·pa·ny ə-ˈkəmp-(ə-)nē

accompanied; accompanying

: to go with or attend as a companion

: to perform an accompaniment to or for

: to occur at the same time as or along with

a thunderstorm accompanied by high winds

Etymology

Middle English accompanien "to accompany," from early French acompaigner (same meaning), from a- "to" and cumpaing "companion," from Latin companio "companion" — related to companion, company