accomplice
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of accomplice
First recorded in 1475–85; a(c) of uncertain origin + late Middle English complice, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin complici- (stem of complex ) “partner”; complex
Explanation
An accomplice is a cooperator or participator, commonly in criminal acts. So you’re an accomplice to the gas station robbery if you distracted the store manager while your partner in crime raided the registers for cash. Coming from the Old French word complice, which means “a confederate,” an accomplice is an ally or partaker, sometimes in wrongdoing. Novelist Saul Bellow famously said that "when we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.” What he means, in more direct terms, is that we run potential plans by others because we're looking for approval or someone to go along with us, not because we truly want their opinion.
Vocabulary lists containing accomplice
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Tuck Everlasting
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The Wednesday Wars
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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.
Melania Trump instead decided to read a statement that distanced her from any connection to Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
“When you combine accomplice liability, felony murder, and the death penalty, it is a toxic stew,” professor Maria Kolar, of Oklahoma City University School of Law, told me.
From Slate • Mar. 6, 2026
At first, Zamora was helped by an accomplice, a technician for Portugal’s national flag carrier TAP—the company that would ultimately uncover the scam.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026
Some of them were genuine certificates supplied by an accomplice working as a technician at an airline, but with details altered on his home computer.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
“We all like appreciation for our own hard work, of course. But you must have had an accomplice, all the same...someone in Hogsmeade, someone who was able to slip Katie the — the — aaaah...”
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
