accompaniment
Americannoun
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something incidental or added for ornament, symmetry, etc.
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Music. a part in a composition designed to serve as background and support for more important parts.
noun
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something that accompanies or is served or used with something else
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something inessential or subsidiary that is added, as for ornament or symmetry
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music a subordinate part for an instrument, voices, or an orchestra
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of accompaniment
Explanation
If your menu tonight consists of grilled pork and savory apples, then the pork is the main item and the apples are the accompaniment, meaning they complement the main dish. The noun accompaniment entered English in the eighteenth century and originally was used in a musical sense to describe a part in a song that supports or acts as background for another more prominent part. Its meaning later expanded to include not only musical assistance but other things that completes or make better the main thing. You’ll often hear it used to describe a food that supports the main item on a plate.
Vocabulary lists containing accompaniment
Fahrenheit 451
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Prisoner B-3087
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Music - Introductory
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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.
If your schedule allows, don’t miss the hotel’s afternoon tea service, which includes live piano accompaniment and fills up quickly.
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
Although nowadays, it comes without the accompaniment of multi-million pound artworks.
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026
Working his acoustic guitar with a French horn accompaniment — French horns! — he dares us to balance our relentless socioeconomic drive with our deep need to hang out, to while away the hours.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
If my friend Alison, who lives alone, makes herself a nice meal, a glass of wine seems an appropriate accompaniment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026
The rock-passing accompaniment reflects the idea of a tight-knit community and cooperation, for if even one child fails to pass their rock on the beat to the next child, the entire song cannot continue.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
