accompany

verb

ac·​com·​pa·​ny ə-ˈkəmp-nē 

-ˈkämp-;

-ˈkəm-pə-,

-ˈkäm- 

accompanied; accompanying

transitive verb

1

: to go with as an associate or companion

She accompanied me to the store.

2

: to perform an accompaniment to or for

He will be accompanying her on the piano.

3

a

: to cause to be in association

accompanied their advice with a warning

b

: to be in association with

the pictures that accompany the text

intransitive verb

music : to perform an accompaniment

Synonyms

• attend
• chaperone
• chaperon
• companion
• company
• convoy
• escort
• see
• squire

Examples of accompany in a Sentence

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

Dunk’s return to form against West Ham was accompanied by Solly March’s first start for 18 months after major knee damage. —Andy Naylor, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Upon embarking the plane, you will be accompanied right to your chauffeur. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 29 Apr. 2025

While some of our fans reach up to 60+ dB, this noise level is typically compared to the sound of a rainfall and is often accompanied by strong airflow to keep your space cool. —Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 29 Apr. 2025

If this news article was a wildfire spreading out of control, then every astronomer was a firefighter, desperately trying to minimize the damage spurred by the press release accompanying the paper. —Darryl Seligman, Space.com, 29 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for accompany

• company
• intercompany

Kids Definition

accompany

verb

ac·​com·​pa·​ny ə-ˈkəmp-(ə-)nē 

accompanied; accompanying

1

: to go with or attend as a companion

2

: to perform an accompaniment to or for

3

: 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