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”; 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
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.
According to the Justice Department, Do and an accomplice tried to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
The first lady said she never had a relationship with Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The letter said applicants could cheat in a variety of ways, including using impersonators, working with an accomplice via screen–sharing or earpieces, or getting help from AI chatbots.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 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
She stood for a few heartbeats, feeling the wild blood surge in her neck, then went silently to the window— the silence of an accomplice.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
