accord

A new federal law may accord with—or be in accordance with—the guidelines that a company has already established. The rowdy behavior of the hero Beowulf accords with Norse ideals of the early Middle Ages; but such behavior wouldn't have been in accordance with the ideals of a later young lord from the same general region, Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet. Accord is also a noun, meaning "agreement". Thus, we often hear of two countries signing a peace accord; and we also frequently hear of two things or people being "in accord with" each other.

Origin and Etymology of accord

Middle English accorden, acorden "to reconcile, come to an agreement, be in agreement," borrowed from Anglo-French acorder, going back to Vulgar Latin *accordāre, from Latin ad- ad- + -cordāre, as in concordāre "to be in agreement," discordāre "to be in conflict" — more at concordance

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

See Words from the same year

accord Synonyms

Phrases

fall in with;

Synonym Discussion of accord

grant, concede, vouchsafe, accord, award mean to give as a favor or a right. grant implies giving to a claimant or petitioner something that could be withheld.

- granted them a new hearing

concede implies yielding something reluctantly in response to a rightful or compelling claim.

- even her critics concede she can be charming

vouchsafe implies granting something as a courtesy or an act of gracious condescension.

- vouchsafed the secret to only a few chosen disciples

accord implies giving to another what is due or proper.

- accorded all the honors befitting a head of state

award implies giving what is deserved or merited usually after a careful weighing of pertinent factors.

- awarded the company a huge defense contract

accord

noun

Definition of accord

1 a : agreement, conformity

acted in accord with the company's policy

b : a formal reaching of agreement : compact, treaty

a peace accord

2 : voluntary or spontaneous impulse to act

gave generously of their own accord

3 : balanced interrelationship : harmony

4 obsolete : assent

See accord defined for English-language learners

Examples of accord in a Sentence

The two sides were able to reach an accord.
hoped to bring about a peace accord between the warring nations

Recent Examples of accord from the Web

The country has spent more than US$12 billion on hydrogen technology as part of its strategy to reduce fossil fuel imports and meet its commitment to reduce CO2 emissions under the Paris climate accord.

— robert f. service, Science | AAAS, "Ammonia—a renewable fuel made from sun, air, and water—could power the globe without carbon," 12 July 2018
Let’s look at the pattern here: Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the Paris Climate accords – but that doesn’t take effect until 2020.

— heather hurlburt, Daily Intelligencer, "There Is No Cleaning Up the Foreign Policy Mess Trump Is Making," 11 July 2018
His ‘‘America First’’ policies, including the decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord and the nuclear deal with Iran, have brought him into conflict with Britain’s leaders over issues of real substance.

— BostonGlobe.com, "President Trump will get red carpet treatment in UK — and big protests," 11 July 2018
Over the objections of other senior staffers, including the secretary of state, Pruitt helped convince Trump to start withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate accords.

— umair irfan, Vox, "Scott Pruitt is leaving behind a toxic mess at the EPA," 6 July 2018
The conference was the first of its kind since nations signed the Paris climate accord.

— zack colman, Scientific American, "Gas Industry Grapples with Culpability," 29 June 2018
Obliterating Barack Obama’s legacy, by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris climate accord and Iran deal, was a cinch.

— The Economist, "The rising cost of America First," 14 June 2018
Tearing up international deals -- the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris climate accord and the Iran deal.

— bianna golodryga, CBS News, "North Korea summit: Who will walk away with the better deal?," 11 June 2018
The steel entanglement comes after the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accord.

— richard bravo, Bloomberg.com, "Threat of Trade Brawl Hangs on Trump’s Looming Tariff Deadline," 31 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of accord

Middle English accord, acord, borrowed from Anglo-French acord, acorde, noun derivative of acorder "to come to an agreement, ¹accord"

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

accord Synonyms

Synonyms

agreement, concurrence, concurrency, consensus, unanimity, unison;

Antonyms

conflict, disagreement;

Near Antonyms

discord, dissension (also dissention);

dissent, opposition, resistance;

disapprobation, disapproval, disfavor;

Related Words

accession, adhesion, assent, consent;

acceptance, acquiescence, concession, embrace, embracement;

approbation, approval, favor;

alliance, collaboration, collusion, complicity, conspiracy;

compliance, concert, concertedness, concord, concordance, conformity, consonance, harmony, oneness, solidarity, understanding, union;

empathy, rapport, sympathy;

Phrases

meeting of minds;

ACCORD Defined for English Language Learners

accord

verb

Definition of accord for English Language Learners

: to give (something, such as special treatment or status) to someone or something

accord

noun

Definition of accord for English Language Learners

: a formal or official agreement
: a situation or state in which people or things agree

ACCORD Defined for Kids

accord

verb ac·cord \ ə-ˈkȯrd \

Definition of accord for Students

accorded; according

1 : ¹give 3

The teacher accorded them special privileges.

2 : to be in harmony : agree

Your story of the accident accords with theirs.

accord

noun

Definition of accord for Students

1 : agreement 1, harmony

He acted in accord with the rules.

2 : willingness to act or to do something

They left of their own accord.

3 agreement 3, treaty

Word Root of accord

The Latin word cor, meaning “heart,” and its form cordis give us the root cord. Words from the Latin cor have something to do with the heart. When there is discord, or disagreement, hearts are apart. When there is accord, or agreement, hearts have moved together. Anything that is cordial, such as a welcome, comes from the heart.

Law Dictionary

accord

transitive verb ac·cord \ ə-ˈkȯrd \

legal Definition of accord

1 : to bring into agreement

2 : to grant or give especially as appropriate, due, or earned

intransitive verb

: to be consistent or in harmony

Note: Accord in this sense is often used to introduce a case or an authority that accords with the case or authority just cited, as for example in a sentence like “… a decision based on equitable principles. Accord Smith v. Jones, 1 F.2d 2 (1900).”

accord

noun

legal Definition of accord

1 : agreement of opinion

both cases in accord

2 : a formal act of agreement : treaty

an economic accord

3 : an accepted offer by which the parties agree that a specified future performance will discharge in full an obligation when performed even though the performance is of less value than the original obligation; also : the defense that an accord was agreed upon —usually used in the phrase accord and satisfaction — called also executory accord ; compare composition, compromise, novation, satisfaction, substituted contract at contract, transaction 3