companion
1 Americannoun
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a person who is frequently in the company of, associates with, or accompanies another.
my son and his two companions.
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a person employed to accompany, assist, or live with another in the capacity of a helpful friend.
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a mate or match for something.
White wine is the usual companion of fish.
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a handbook or guide.
a bird watcher's companion.
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a member of the lowest rank in an order of knighthood or of a grade in an order.
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Also called companion star, comes. Astronomy. the fainter of the two stars that constitute a double star.
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Obsolete. a fellow.
verb (used with object)
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companions,
present (3rd person singular)
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companioned,
past participle, past
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companioning
present participle
noun
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a person who is an associate of another or others; comrade
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(esp formerly) an employee, usually a woman, who provides company for an employer, esp an elderly woman
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one of a pair; match
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( as modifier )
a companion volume
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a guidebook or handbook
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a member of the lowest rank of any of certain orders of knighthood
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astronomy the fainter of the two components of a double star
verb
noun
Usage
What does companion mean? A companion is a person who frequently spends time with you, associates with you, or accompanies you when you go places. Pets are also commonly considered companions. The word companion implies that you spend a lot of time together. A person you call a companion can be a friend or a romantic partner. A travel companion is someone you travel with. Companionship is the state of spending time with someone or having someone to spend time with—the state of having a companion or being someone’s companion. Sometimes, a hired helper is called a companion, especially when they help to take care of an older person. Companion is sometimes also used to refer to a thing that accompanies or complements something else, such as in the phrase companion piece, which often refers to an artistic work that pairs well with another work. More specifically, a companion refers to a handbook, guidebook, or field guide (the word is especially used in the titles of such books). In astronomy, companion is used in a more specific way to refer to a companion star—the less bright star in a set of stars called a double star. (The brighter star is called the primary.)Example: People make fun of older people for using dating sites, but the truth is that a lot of them are just lonely and looking for a companion.
Synonym Usage
See acquaintance.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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companionsimple
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companionssimple
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have companionedperfect
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has companionedperfect
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am companioningprogressive
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are companioningprogressive
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is companioningprogressive
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have been companioningperfect progressive
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has been companioningperfect progressive
Past
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companionedsimple
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had companionedperfect
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was companioningprogressive
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were companioningprogressive
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had been companioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of companion1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English compainoun, from Anglo-French; Old French compaignon, from Late Latin compāniōn- (stem of compāniō ) “messmate,” equivalent to com- “with, together” + pān(is) “bread” + -iōn- noun suffix; presumably as translation of a Germanic word; compare Gothic gahlaiba, Old High German galeipo; see com-, -ion
Origin of companion2
First recorded in 1730–40; alteration of Dutch kampanje “quarterdeck,” possibly from Italian compagna “pantry (of a ship)”
Explanation
A companion is one who serves as a friend or partner in something. Whether it’s travel or dinner or card-playing, your companion is the one who does it with you. The word companion is a close, um, companion to the word company, and you might as well say that someone you keep company with is your companion. Sometimes, it describes a piece of art or other work that goes with another. For instance, you might read a biography of Emily Dickenson as a companion to her studying her poems. The things go together and complement each other.
Vocabulary lists containing companion
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ms. Hannah-Jones was interviewing me for a New York Times series titled “Segregated City,” a video companion piece of sorts to her 2016 article “Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Instead of allowing material from the companion star to settle into a disc, the magnetic field appears to guide that matter directly onto the white dwarf.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
Mayeda said the seizure was the largest companion animal operation ever conducted by the department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Giorgio Armani's niece, Silvana Armani, remains as head of women's design at the Armani Group, with the designer's longtime companion, designer Leo Dell'Orco, leading men's.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
This time it was Matthias’s turn to become excited and point a paw at his companion.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The second pillar is about ensuring social media, video sharing apps, online video games, AI companions and chatbots are safe before children use them.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Recent heat waves are inspiring makers of fans and other cooling products to position themselves as constant companions using new collaborations and influencer partnerships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Most care deeply about their avian companions and believe feeding them is helpful.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
A New England frontiersman and ‘49er called “Grizzly Adams” — a name we likely know from a 1970s television show — tamed and trained a couple of young grizzlies as his companions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The black cat sprang out of Belet's arms and onto the marble stairs to join his half a dozen or so companions on the landing.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
It should be companioned with a key and a glossary like the Berlitz books.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
He sat at the end of the table companioned only by his wife, the conservative journalist Barbara Amiel.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 1, 2016
"All I want is for people, when they read my books, to feel companioned, to feel they're not alone in the world," she says.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 16, 2013
L'Enfant, a favored one, constantly companioned by such birds and beasts as cats, bats, dragonflies and a squirrel, is untransfigured by the gentleness that attends his living, hut ridden with black bile and curious humors.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dead and companioned in pomp to the grave!
From His Lady of the Sonnets by Robert W. Norwood
If all of us sincerely and practically united in trusting and companioning them,—so sincerely as to convince them of the fact—I would have small misgivings.
From The Subterranean Brotherhood by Julian Hawthorne
The child seemed in her loneliness to reach out for companioning.
From The Convert by Elizabeth Robins
My own toy fawn pugs loved their comforts too much to be perfect dogs for companioning a person of active outdoor habits, but they were sweet-tempered, gentle things, and, as such, to be commended.
From A Manual of Toy Dogs How to breed, rear, and feed them by Mrs. Leslie Williams
We repeated the “soft words” over and over, companioning them with “O they banish our anger forever When they laurel the graves of our dead.”
From The Brothers' War by John Calvin Reed
Brunston and other Scottish lairds of Wishart’s circle were agents of the plot, and in 1545-46 our George Wishart is found companioning with them.
From John Knox and the Reformation by Andrew Lang
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
