accompaniment

noun

ac·​com·​pa·​ni·​ment ə-ˈkəm-pə-nē-mənt 

-ˈkəmp-nē-

1

music : an instrumental or vocal part designed to support or complement a melody

sang the song with a piano accompaniment

2

a

: an addition (such as an ornament) intended to give completeness or symmetry to something : complement

a tie that's a nice accompaniment to his new suit

b

: an accompanying situation or occurrence : concomitant

studied Italian as an accompaniment to her art history class

accompanimental

ə-ˌkəm-pə-nē-ˈmen-tᵊl 

-ˌkəmp-nē-

adjective

Synonyms

• attendant
• companion
• concomitant
• corollary
• incident
• obbligato

Examples of accompaniment in a Sentence

She sings without musical accompaniment.

A nice tie was a fine accompaniment to his new suit.

This dish can be served as an accompaniment to most meat main dishes.

This wine is a good accompaniment for spicy foods.

She studied Italian as an accompaniment to her classes in art history.

Recent Examples on the Web

And the Attachment Theory, with all of its effortless bombast, is the perfect accompaniment for this new stage in her career. —Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2025

Pork Chops With Jammy-Mustard Glaze Fruit and mustard are two classic accompaniments to pork, and really, a juicy chop doesn’t need much more than that for a sweet and tangy sauce. —The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 6 May 2025

From there the clubs add accompaniments such as fig jam, olives crackers and charcuterie, and come in several levels. —Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

Particularly heavy moments are complemented by an original musical accompaniment which arrives courtesy of Olivier Deriviere (Star Wars: Visions, A Plague Tale: Requiem). —Sarah Thwaites, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

accompany + -ment, on the model of French accompagnement, going back to Old French acompaignement "feudal power-sharing contract," derivative of acompaigner "to accompany"

First Known Use

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing accompaniment

• to the accompaniment of

Kids Definition

accompaniment

noun

ac·​com·​pa·​ni·​ment ə-ˈkəmp-(ə-)nē-mənt 

1

: music played along with a solo part to enrich it

2

: an accompanying object, situation, or event