accord

American  

[uh-kawrd] / əˈkɔrd /

verb (used without object)

• accords,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accorded,
  past participle,  past
• according
  present participle

1. to be in agreement or harmony; agree.

   Synonyms:

   concur, harmonize

   Antonyms:

   conflict

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verb (used with object)

• accords,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accorded,
  past participle,  past
• according
  present participle

1. to make agree or correspond; adapt.

   Synonyms:

   reconcile

2. to grant; bestow.

   to accord due praise.

   Antonyms:

   withdraw, deny, withhold

3. Archaic. to settle; reconcile.

noun

• accords
  plural

1. proper relationship or proportion; harmony.

2. a harmonious union of sounds, colors, etc.

3. consent or concurrence of opinions or wills; agreement.

4. an international agreement; settlement of questions outstanding among nations.

idioms

1. of one's own accord, without being asked or told; voluntarily.

   We did the extra work of our own accord.

accord British  

/ əˈkɔːd /

noun

1. agreement; conformity; accordance (esp in the phrase in accord with )

2. consent or concurrence of opinion

3. unanimously

4. pleasing relationship between sounds, colours, etc; harmony

5. a settlement of differences, as between nations; compromise

6. voluntarily

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verb

1. to be or cause to be in harmony or agreement

2. (tr) to grant; bestow

accord More Idioms  

1. see of one's own accord.

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Usage

What does accord mean? To accord is to agree or be in harmony with someone or something. Accord is usually used formally to mean to work together. It is often used in official decrees, analysis of public figures, and governmental affairs. Related to this, an accord is an agreement. In particular when nations agree to something, we often say they have reached an accord, as with the Paris Climate Accords. To accord can also mean to grant or bestow. Oftentimes an item that is accorded is something that will strengthen a relationship or agreement, as with according someone praise or forgiveness. Example: Failure to reach an accord will mean the battle will continue for years to come.

Synonym Usage

See correspond.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• accorder
  noun
• nonaccord
  noun
• preaccord
  noun
• accordable
  adjective
• unaccordable
  adjective
• unaccorded
  adjective
• well-accorded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• accords
  plural

Participles

• according
  present
• accorded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• accord
  simple
• accords
  simple
• have accorded
  perfect
• has accorded
  perfect
• am according
  progressive
• are according
  progressive
• is according
  progressive
• have been according
  perfect progressive
• has been according
  perfect progressive

Past

• accorded
  simple
• had accorded
  perfect
• was according
  progressive
• were according
  progressive
• had been according
  perfect progressive

Future

• will accord
  simple
• will have accorded
  perfect
• will be according
  progressive
• will have been according
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of accord

First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English a(c)corden, late Old English acordan, from Old French acorder, from Vulgar Latin accordāre (unrecorded), from Latin ac- ac- + cor (stem cord- ) “heart” ( see cordial); see also heart

Explanation

An accord is an agreement between groups or even nations, like a formal peace accord that prevents war or the accord between you and your sister specifying who gets to use the car on which days. Accord is an agreeable word. If you and your best friend are always in accord, you agree about everything. And if you do something of your own accord, you do it without prompting from someone else. As a verb, accord means to be in harmony or agreement, or to allow. Perhaps your enhanced vocabulary will accord you, or allow you, a better understanding of language.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accord accords accorded according

Under the terms approved Wednesday, the two sides must reach an accord on the cost of those additional services by October 2027.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

However, they fell out over the peace accord, from which Eritrea was excluded, and which stipulated the withdrawal of foreign soldiers.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

If negotiations were to resume, it’s unclear whether Trump and his coterie of negotiators have the stamina or the foreign service expertise to bring about an accord.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

The confrontation exposed the flaws in the loosely worded interim peace accord, which promises free passage through the strait but leaves unclear who will control, coordinate and police the route.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Of their own accord they could no more run to the hills than fly to the moon.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

These accords involve Arab or Muslim countries normalizing relations with Israel.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026

This accords with the Telegram post by EL which stated he had access to Nato and CIA documents because his father had been in Europe.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

"The Claw" now stands on the same storied lawn where president Bill Clinton hosted the 1993 Oslo peace accords signing and Richard Nixon gave his final farewell.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Each turnover being a rare event, most every fresh host has been greeted with a chorus of “Who? What? Why?” before time accords the newcomer a patina of inevitability.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

He has, as a consequence of his crime, not only forfeited his liberty, but all his personal rights except those which the law in its humanity accords to him.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

This column has long maintained that a major operation to wrest control of the Persian Gulf would be recommitting to a strategic past that accorded excessive primacy to the Gulf and its oil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

In the 2000s, derivatives created from subprime mortgages were accorded top credit ratings; now, the so-called illiquidity premium on portfolios of loans to small and midsize private companies is considered their secret sauce.

From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026

Traditionally, all ex-leaders have been accorded state funerals and buried at Embassy Park, which is specifically reserved for them.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2025

Fans — many? most? all? — saw these arrests as special bad treatment accorded to a famous person, but, says Reubens, “30 years later, I still feel the effects all the time.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

This was a severe period on that plantation, and saw many unhappy restrictions upon the small luxuries and freedoms the servants had been accorded.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

The use of diuretics in this way is "very unusual" according to Prof Jean-Claude Alvarez, who runs the pilot at the Raymond-Poincaré AP-HP Hospital.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Higher spending on munitions will boost defense stocks, according to Citi.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

The U.S. dollar is flat at 1.2777 Singapore dollars, according to FactSet data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

The “advanced state of decomposition” of Melissa Casias’ body, which was discovered almost a year after she was reported missing, limited the autopsy investigation, according to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

A few newspapers, mainly around Washington, picked up the story and wrote about the volcanologists who sounded “a little gleeful,” according to one.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

Related Words

• affirm
• agree
• conform
• correspond