accomplice
Americannoun
-
accomplices
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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”; see 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
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Tuck Everlasting
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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:
It confirmed the life term of his accomplice Mahendra Hembram but freed 11 others, saying there was not enough evidence to support their convictions.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
His high-profile targets went on to include the future French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 1997 -- although in that case he had an accomplice lob the actual pie for fear of being recognised.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Left in the dust was the man’s accomplice, Natali Ray, a 57-year-old aspiring novelist and mom of three from England who was arrested at the scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
And yet here comes Simon Armitage, the poet laureate of the U.K., with his stunning new verse translation, not as a vandal of antiquity but as a lucid accomplice to its endurance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
But I couldn’t see Davis as his father’s accomplice.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
Pike’s accomplices were her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, and Shadolla Peterson, who was 19.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Using stolen identities, AI tools and U.S. accomplices, its operatives have cheated their way into remote jobs in an effort to earn money for Kim Jong Un’s regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The court ruled that he did not act alone, but after Knox and Sollecito were acquitted no other accomplices were convicted.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Bušić and his accomplices were taken into custody by Parisian authorities and then sent to the United States.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Therefore, he could not count on them, since they all belonged to the Orsini and Colonna families or were their accomplices.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
