accompany
Americanverb (used with object)
-
accompanies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
accompanied,
past participle, past
-
accompanying
present participle
-
to go along or in company with; join in action.
to accompany a friend on a walk.
-
to be or exist in association or company with.
Thunder accompanies lightning.
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to put in company with; cause to be or go along; associate (usually followed bywith ).
He accompanied his speech with gestures.
-
Music. to play or sing an accompaniment to or for.
verb (used without object)
-
accompanies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
accompanied,
past participle, past
-
accompanying
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to go along with, so as to be in company with or escort
-
to supplement
the food is accompanied with a very hot mango pickle
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(tr) to occur, coexist, or be associated with
-
to provide a musical accompaniment for (a performer)
Synonym Usage
Accompany, attend, convoy, escort mean to go along with someone (or something). To accompany is to go along as an associate on equal terms: to accompany a friend on a shopping trip. Attend implies going along with, usually to render service or perform duties: to attend one's employer on a business trip. To convoy is to accompany (especially ships) with an armed guard for protection: to convoy a fleet of merchant vessels. To escort is to accompany in order to protect, guard, honor, or show courtesy: to escort a visiting dignitary.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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accompanysimple
-
accompaniessimple
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have accompaniedperfect
-
has accompaniedperfect
-
am accompanyingprogressive
-
are accompanyingprogressive
-
is accompanyingprogressive
-
have been accompanyingperfect progressive
-
has been accompanyingperfect progressive
Past
-
accompaniedsimple
-
had accompaniedperfect
-
was accompanyingprogressive
-
were accompanyingprogressive
-
had been accompanyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of accompany
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English accompanye, from Middle French accompagnier; see ac-, company
Explanation
The verb accompany means to keep someone company, or to be their companion on a trip or journey. In a musical sense, accompany means to play background music for the lead singer or soloist. If you want your friend to keep you company on your way to the store, you could ask her to accompany you on the walk. Or, if you want your friend to play piano while you sing a song, you could ask her to accompany you on piano. Just don’t ask her to do both at the same time or your friend may not want to accompany you anywhere any longer.
Vocabulary lists containing accompany
The Circuit
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"Tribute to the Dog," Vocabulary from the speech
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"Lob's Girl" by Joan Aiken
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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:
That approach could allow more sophisticated processing without the same energy costs that typically accompany larger digital neural networks.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Officials and supporters had readied talking points to accompany the definition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Saavedra said he typically staffed at least two security guards to accompany Iza 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
A lengthy explanation is expected to accompany the latest determination.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Or maybe their father, Mikwam, would arrive and say he needed an always-hungry little boy of five winters to accompany him on his next long trip.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
So on Air Force One, for example, or in the Oval Office, the White House press pool accompanies the president to those kinds of places, and when he travels, accompanies him.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
Police allege that someone was able to access the goods by showing a fake airway bill - a document that accompanies shipped items.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The club music that accompanies Claire’s bodybuilder retinue is funny the first time; less so on subsequent bursts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
“They seem to be especially triggered about my posts about Natalie Harp and how she accompanies the president everywhere.”
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
“I intercept Rae, and the Golly Brown Giant over there accompanies Coop to the locker, where he’ll find your gift.”
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
However, “the creation of debt should always be accompanied with the means of extinguishment.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The videos were part of a wave of misinformation that accompanied a child vaccination campaign this year that saw more than seven million Filipinos inoculated.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The message accompanied a video of the former Big Brother host discussing how Dame Esther was an "inspiration to girls like me when we were growing up".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
You may be wondering just what kind of company would be so willing to lavish the resources required for a full-scale New York City musical, accompanied by loads of free merch.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
I flinched as steel came in contact with steel, the sharp metallic twang accompanied by a flash of sparks.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
This recent divergence certainly appears to be a very positive omen, as you can see from the accompanying chart.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
The industry has recovered only about half of tariff-policy-related costs, a "sustained margin drag that is likely to weigh on supplier financials," according to a commentary from Deloitte accompanying the survey.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
“We took Labor Day literally this year,” Palvin wrote in the caption accompanying a photo of she and Sprouse holding their baby girl between them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
They reject the developer’s project for a variety of reasons, from the accompanying noise to an aversion to the rapid spread of artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
The accompanying photo spilled from the camera into Sheed’s waiting hand.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
