- present participle of accord.
according
Americanadjective
adjective
-
(foll by to) in proportion; in relation
salary will be according to age and experience
-
(foll by to) on the report (of); as stated (by)
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(foll by to) in conformity (with); in accordance (with)
everything went according to plan
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(foll by as) depending (on whether)
-
not_standard dependent on
it's all according where you want to go
Etymology
Origin of according
Explanation
If someone says, "according to the weather man, it's going to rain," that means that the weather man is the source of the information. Like the word accord, according comes from the Old French acorder meaning "reconcile, agree, be in harmony." According and the word to seem to be in harmony, the one always followed by the other. The term according to can be used to attribute something reported — according to the news, the airports are closed (even though according to your friend, they're still open). It also refers to agreement with a plan. If you study according to your advisor's suggestions, you'll do well.
Vocabulary lists containing according
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade 11)
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SHSAT: Language of the Test
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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.
U.S. cattle imports from Mexico had totaled 1.25 million head back in 2024, according to the USDA.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Adjusted earnings per share were $3.61, compared with estimates of $3.52 a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Shanahan was holding and using a cellphone at the time of the crash but was not at fault, according to the California Crash Reporting System, a statewide database of collisions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Seven former eBay executives pleaded guilty, external to the criminal charges between 2022 and 2024, according to the U.S.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Thousands of them, according to my daddy, although I haven’t been down on this part of the refuge.”
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
