accomplice

noun

ac·​com·​plice ə-ˈkäm-pləs  -ˈkəm- 

: one associated with another especially in wrongdoing

was convicted as an accomplice to murder

Synonyms

• abettor
• abetter
• accessory
• accessary
• cohort
• confederate

Examples of accomplice in a Sentence

He was convicted as an accomplice to murder.

the thief and his accomplices were eventually caught and brought to justice

Recent Examples on the Web

His accomplice, Terry Nichols, was found guilty in 1997 of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and involuntary manslaughter, per The New York Times. —Jeff Truesdell, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025

Some other sources, however, afford her considerably more credit: not merely an accomplice to the best acid ever made, but, potentially, its prime creator. —John Semley, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2025

The accomplice, a friend of Reginald named Jimmy Ray Barnes, agreed to testify against Reginald in exchange for a five-year prison sentence. —Paul Larosa, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2025

His accomplice, Benjamin Garmon Jr., had been previously arrested and charged with first-degree murder, reported Fox 35. —Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Anglo-French acomplice, alteration of complice "associate" — more at complice

Note: The source of initial a(c)- is unclear. The earlier notion that a- represents fusion of the indefinite article cannot be maintained given the much earlier occurrences of the word in Anglo-French (in a 1384 petition of the Drapers guild, and in vol. 2 of the Rotuli Parliamentorum [1279-1377]). The suggestion that complice has been assimilated to accomplir, "to fulfill, etc.," (see accomplish) is not very compelling semantically.

First Known Use

1584, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

accomplice

noun

ac·​com·​plice ə-ˈkäm-pləs  -ˈkəm- 

: someone associated with another in wrongdoing

Legal Definition

accomplice

noun

ac·​com·​plice ə-ˈkäm-pləs, -ˈkəm- 

: one who intentionally and voluntarily participates with another in a crime by encouraging or assisting in the commission of the crime or by failing to prevent it though under a duty to do so

the accomplice of the burglar

an accomplice in a robbery

Etymology

alteration (from incorrect division of a complice) of complice, from Middle French, associate, from Late Latin complic- complex partner, confederate