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

Example Sentences

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 Malcolm’s portraits of her parents are touching, if strangely incomplete, consciously sparing them the betrayals that so often accompany memoir. —

Sam Adler-bell, The New Republic, 20 Mar. 2023 Whiterock works at his alma mater, Northern Arizona University, as a program coordinator helping military veterans navigate the complexities that can accompany a transition away from the typical soldier’s strict, regimented lifestyle. —

Alex Horton, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2023 Problems that can accompany hush trips Amy Marcum, a human resource manager with HR service provider Insperity, warns that hush trips can cause friction if word gets out. —

Nerd Wallet, oregonlive, 17 Mar. 2023 The nerdiest and least cool of superheroes, Shazam embodies the strange transitions of puberty and the embarrassment and lack of control that accompany them. —

Kyle Smith, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2023 With the typical caveats that accompany spring stats, Castro and Vargas entered play Tuesday having pitched nine innings, struck out 10 and not walked anyone. —

The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2023 Marshall also channeled years of writing and performing slam poetry to pen a song to accompany the dance. —

Byclaudia Lopez Lloreda, science.org, 13 Mar. 2023 Longer bursts lasting more than two seconds, on the other hand, are associated with the supernovae that accompany the death of massive stars and the creation of a neutron star or black hole. —

Robert Lea, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2023 They were all ordered to accompany him in death, and those who died were extremely numerous. —

Jeremy Hillpot, Discover Magazine, 13 Feb. 2023 See More

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

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 24 Mar. 2023.

Copy Citation

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