accessory

[ ak-ses-uh-ree ]

/ ækˈsɛs ə ri /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR accessory ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ac·ces·so·ries.

a subordinate or supplementary part, object, or the like, used mainly for convenience, attractiveness, safety, etc., as a spotlight on an automobile or a lens cover on a camera.

an article or set of articles of dress, as gloves, earrings, or a scarf, that adds completeness, convenience, attractiveness, etc., to one's basic outfit.

Law.

Also called accessory before the fact. a person who, though not present during the commission of a felony, is guilty of having aided and abetted another, who committed the felony.
Also called accessory after the fact. a person who knowingly conceals or assists another who has committed a felony.Compare principal(def 9b).

Anatomy. accessory nerve.

adjective

contributing to a general effect; supplementary; subsidiary.

Law. giving aid as an accessory.

Petrography. (of a mineral) being present in small amounts in a rock and having no bearing on the classification of the rock, as zircon in granite.

Nearby words

Origin of accessory

1400–50; late Middle English accessorie (< Middle French) < Medieval Latin accessōrius. See accede, -tory¹

SYNONYMS FOR accessory

3. accomplice.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR accessory ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsac·ces·so·ri·ly, adverbac·ces·so·ri·ness, nounin·ter·ac·ces·so·ry, adjectivenon·ac·ces·so·ry, adjective, noun, plural non·ac·ces·so·ries.

Synonym study

1. See addition.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for accessory

A shift to the accessory position would have also caused the power steering to suddenly quit.
The Cops Who Found Out the Truth About GM's Deadly Cars—in 2006|Michael Daly|July 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Adoption of the accessory has even spawned its own fashion subculture.
The Chinese Can’t Catch Their Breath|Brendon Hong|May 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The accessory was easily lifted by a gust of wind and would regularly get entangled in the wheel spokes of carriages.
Corsets, Muslin Disease, and More of the Deadly Fashion Trends|The Fashion Beast Team|April 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is no longer primarily an accessory; it becomes something larger.
Victoire de Castellane’s ‘Precious Objects’ at the Gagosian Gallery|Erin Cunningham|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Unlike a phone, wearable technology is an add-on, an accessory, something that comes on top.
Is Wearable Technology a Fad or the Future?|Daniel Gross|January 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Why should they not speed the conviction of him whose intrigues were accessory to this double homicide?
Oswald Langdon|Carson Jay Lee
In any case, the man is an accessory before the fact to a thing which he acknowledges wrong on the part of its performer.
A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution|C. M. Williams
Yet they are accessory, while the primary power must lie in the content of the pictures themselves.
The Photoplay|Hugo Mnsterberg
But that he was an accessory after the fact no human being could doubt.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
For that nation or king is then to be considered, not as an accessory, but as a principal enemy.
The Rights of War and Peace|Hugo Grotius

British Dictionary definitions for accessory

accessory

/ (əkˈsɛsərɪ) /

noun plural -ries

a supplementary part or object, as of a car, appliance, etc

(often plural) a small accompanying item of dress, esp of women's dress

a person who incites someone to commit a crime or assists the perpetrator of a crime, either before or during its commission

adjective

supplementary; additional; subordinate

assisting in or having knowledge of an act, esp a crime

Derived Formsaccessorial (ˌæksɛˈsɔːrɪəl), adjectiveaccessorily, adverbaccessoriness, noun

Word Origin for accessory

C17: from Late Latin accessōrius: see access

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for accessory

accessory

also accessary, early 15c. as a legal term in the criminal sense of "one aiding in a crime;" also "that which is subordinate to something else," from Late Latin accessorius, from accessor, agent noun from accedere (see access (n.)). Attested from 1896 as "woman's smaller articles of dress," hence accessorize.

accessory

adj.

1550s, "subordinate," from Late Latin accessorius, from accessor, agent noun from accedere (see access (n.)). Meaning "aiding in crime" is from c.1600.

Medicine definitions for accessory

accessory

[ ăk-sĕs′ə-rē ]

adj.

Having a secondary, supplementary, or subordinate function.

accessory

noun, plural ac·ces·so·ries.

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of accessory

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for accessory

accessory

noun plural -ries

adjective

Word Origin for accessory

accessory

accessory

accessory

adj.