accompaniment

noun ac·com·pa·ni·ment \ ə-ˈkəm-pə-nē-mənt , -ˈkəmp-nē- \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Examples: accompaniment in a Sentence

Definition of accompaniment

1 music : an instrumental or vocal part designed to support or complement a melody

sang the song with a piano accompaniment

2 a : an addition (such as an ornament) intended to give completeness or symmetry to something : complement

a tie that's a nice accompaniment to his new suit

b : an accompanying situation or occurrence : concomitant

studied Italian as an accompaniment to her art history class

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accompanimental

play \-ˌkəm-pə-nē-ˈmen-tᵊl, -ˌkəmp-nē-\ adjective

See accompaniment defined for English-language learners

See accompaniment defined for kids

Examples of accompaniment in a Sentence

She sings without musical accompaniment.
A nice tie was a fine accompaniment to his new suit.
This dish can be served as an accompaniment to most meat main dishes.
This wine is a good accompaniment for spicy foods.
She studied Italian as an accompaniment to her classes in art history.

Recent Examples of accompaniment from the Web

Riverdel carries quite a selection of dairy-free fromage along with fresh bread and other delicious accompaniments.

— michaela bechler, Vogue, "What to Do Before or After Your Visit to the Brooklyn Museum," 1 June 2018
Present the dish on a plate, along with fresh vegetables on the side as an accompaniment for the salad.

— jc gibbs, Smithsonian, "Meet The Devotees of the Growing Lao Food Movement in a New Video from Folklife," 31 May 2018
In July, Williams also addressed the cheating rumors surrounding his divorce in JAY-Z‘s short film Footnotes for 4:44, the visual accompaniment to the rapper’s latest album.

— jodi guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, "Jesse Williams Is Dating SportsNet New York Anchor Taylor Rooks," 31 May 2018
The super-talented family will be performing a rendition of Evening of Roses as an accompaniment to this year’s obituaries.

— natalie keegan and becky pemberton, Fox News, "Who is Sheku Kanneh-Mason? Royal Wedding cellist who appeared on 'Britain's Got Talent'," 19 May 2018
Could easily stand on its own with no accompaniment.

— cleveland.com, "The City Diner in Cleveland is not your typical local diner," 8 May 2018
This first generation minimalism has had its day and its decades as ballet accompaniment.

— allan ulrich, San Francisco Chronicle, "Robert Dekkers’ ‘Red Shoes’ not quite the right fit at Diablo Ballet," 5 May 2018
Green beans and rice fulfilled the accompaniment task nicely; same for the warm, buttered pita.

— tim smith, baltimoresun.com, "A dessert disguised as a potted plant, and more surprises at Blair's on Hudson," 30 May 2018
Dressed in a suit with pink tie, pocket handkerchief and sporting long hair, Gilfry seemed a kind of oily Elmer Gantry, further oiled by Aucoin's busily ingratiating chamber orchestra accompaniment.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "Walt Whitman's operatic America in 'Crossing' gets its West Coast premiere," 27 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accompaniment.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of accompaniment

accompany + -ment, on the model of French accompagnement, going back to Old French acompaignement "feudal power-sharing contract," derivative of acompaigner "to accompany"

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1697

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

accompaniment Synonyms

Synonyms

attendant, companion, concomitant, corollary;

complement, supplement;

counterpart, fellow, mate;

consequence, follow-up;

fixings, trimmings;

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, refrain, riff, segue

ACCOMPANIMENT Defined for English Language Learners

accompaniment

noun

Definition of accompaniment for English Language Learners

: music played to support a person who is singing or playing a musical instrument
: something that is added to another thing to make it better or more appealing; especially : something added to or served with food or a meal
: something that is done or that happens at the same time as something else