accomplice

noun

ac·​com·​plice ə-ˈkäm-pləs  -ˈkəm- 

: one associated with another especially in wrongdoing

was convicted as an accomplice to murder

Synonyms

• henchman
• cohort
• accessary
• partner
• accessory
• abettor
• informant
• companion

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

That mysterious shift followed her participation in two days of interviews with the Justice Department, as the White House battles calls for more transparency on Epstein and his potential accomplices. —Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025

If Trump and his cowardly Republican accomplices get away with rigging Texas, voters in states across America will be at risk. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025

Here’s everything to know about Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice's life in prison — and her attempts to overturn her conviction. —Emily Blackwood, People.com, 30 July 2025

Though the killer, Fotis Dulos, took his own life before he could be jailed, and though his accomplice, the paramour Michelle Troconis, has been tried and sentenced to 20 years, Jennifer’s body is still missing. —Rich Cohen, Air Mail, 26 July 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