accord

American  

[uh-kawrd] / əˈkɔrd /

verb (used without object)

• accords,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accorded,
  past participle,  past
• according
  present participle

1. to be in agreement or harmony; agree.

   Synonyms:

   concur, harmonize

   Antonyms:

   conflict

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verb (used with object)

• accords,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accorded,
  past participle,  past
• according
  present participle

1. to make agree or correspond; adapt.

   Synonyms:

   reconcile

2. to grant; bestow.

   to accord due praise.

   Antonyms:

   withdraw, deny, withhold

3. Archaic. to settle; reconcile.

noun

• accords
  plural

1. proper relationship or proportion; harmony.

2. a harmonious union of sounds, colors, etc.

3. consent or concurrence of opinions or wills; agreement.

4. an international agreement; settlement of questions outstanding among nations.

idioms

1. of one's own accord, without being asked or told; voluntarily.

   We did the extra work of our own accord.

accord British  

/ əˈkɔːd /

noun

1. agreement; conformity; accordance (esp in the phrase in accord with )

2. consent or concurrence of opinion

3. unanimously

4. pleasing relationship between sounds, colours, etc; harmony

5. a settlement of differences, as between nations; compromise

6. voluntarily

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verb

1. to be or cause to be in harmony or agreement

2. (tr) to grant; bestow

accord More Idioms  

1. see of one's own accord.

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Usage

What does accord mean? To accord is to agree or be in harmony with someone or something. Accord is usually used formally to mean to work together. It is often used in official decrees, analysis of public figures, and governmental affairs. Related to this, an accord is an agreement. In particular when nations agree to something, we often say they have reached an accord, as with the Paris Climate Accords. To accord can also mean to grant or bestow. Oftentimes an item that is accorded is something that will strengthen a relationship or agreement, as with according someone praise or forgiveness. Example: Failure to reach an accord will mean the battle will continue for years to come.

Synonym Usage

See correspond.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• accorder
  noun
• nonaccord
  noun
• preaccord
  noun
• accordable
  adjective
• unaccordable
  adjective
• unaccorded
  adjective
• well-accorded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• accords
  plural

Participles

• according
  present
• accorded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• accord
  simple
• accords
  simple
• have accorded
  perfect
• has accorded
  perfect
• am according
  progressive
• are according
  progressive
• is according
  progressive
• have been according
  perfect progressive
• has been according
  perfect progressive

Past

• accorded
  simple
• had accorded
  perfect
• was according
  progressive
• were according
  progressive
• had been according
  perfect progressive

Future

• will accord
  simple
• will have accorded
  perfect
• will be according
  progressive
• will have been according
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of accord

First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English a(c)corden, late Old English acordan, from Old French acorder, from Vulgar Latin accordāre (unrecorded), from Latin ac- ac- + cor (stem cord- ) “heart” ( see cordial); see also heart

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Explanation

An accord is an agreement between groups or even nations, like a formal peace accord that prevents war or the accord between you and your sister specifying who gets to use the car on which days. Accord is an agreeable word. If you and your best friend are always in accord, you agree about everything. And if you do something of your own accord, you do it without prompting from someone else. As a verb, accord means to be in harmony or agreement, or to allow. Perhaps your enhanced vocabulary will accord you, or allow you, a better understanding of language.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accord accords accorded according

The real Bambino, meanwhile, didn’t require chauffeuring; he eventually returned home of his own accord, unaware of the lengths to which humans had gone to retrieve him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Early last week, President Trump and tech executives from Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, Nvidia and others signed a voluntary accord to “self-police” AI development.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Greece and Bulgaria reached an agreement on their return this week, with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev hailing the accord as "historic".

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Zuckerberg said the accord gives the "American people and customers the confidence that the technology works" as intended, calling the meeting a "historic conversation".

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

He was no fool and it was, he could not help feeling, extremely odd that any right-minded rabbit should choose to walk into Efrafa of his own accord.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

But the logic of the accords has grown stronger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

He has made climate accords with foreign nations, jetted to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping, and committed California to a net-zero “partnership” with China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Sudan, Morocco and Kazakhstan have since also signed the accords.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

These accords involve Arab or Muslim countries normalizing relations with Israel.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026

“It is here written, ‘Seven entered Meereen to sign the peace accords and witness the celebratory games at the Pit of Daznak.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

You’ll notice that the coyote isn’t even accorded a jury of his peers, merely two animated jurors out of 12, and one is a silly goose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

This column has long maintained that a major operation to wrest control of the Persian Gulf would be recommitting to a strategic past that accorded excessive primacy to the Gulf and its oil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

That AFP was accorded rare access to film and photograph a competition for women and girls was itself a sign of greater official openness.

From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025

Mr Cheetham said the policy also "accorded with relevant legislation and guidance at the time".

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

This included the esteem accorded to women who held life-giving roles as healers and midwives.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

A pilot asked for medical help, describing "a bloody nose" and "some bite marks", according to audio recorded on air traffic control obtained by CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

In East Timor, unhealthy air pollution persisted on Saturday, including in the capital Dili, according to IQAir.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Li fled to China, with Xuan and Zhang’s help, according to court filings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Two weeks after cutting his first check, Musk gave an additional $83 million to SLF, according to the group’s filing.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

I was assigned a seat at a bench near the front and given the job of measuring small glass rods and arranging them in piles according to lengths.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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Related Words

• affirm
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