companion
1 Americannoun
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a person who is frequently in the company of, associates with, or accompanies another.
my son and his two companions.
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a person employed to accompany, assist, or live with another in the capacity of a helpful friend.
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a mate or match for something.
White wine is the usual companion of fish.
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a handbook or guide.
a bird watcher's companion.
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a member of the lowest rank in an order of knighthood or of a grade in an order.
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Also called companion star, comes. Astronomy. the fainter of the two stars that constitute a double star.
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Obsolete. a fellow.
verb (used with object)
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companions,
present (3rd person singular)
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companioned,
past participle, past
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companioning
present participle
noun
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a person who is an associate of another or others; comrade
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(esp formerly) an employee, usually a woman, who provides company for an employer, esp an elderly woman
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one of a pair; match
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( as modifier )
a companion volume
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a guidebook or handbook
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a member of the lowest rank of any of certain orders of knighthood
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astronomy the fainter of the two components of a double star
verb
noun
Usage
What does companion mean? A companion is a person who frequently spends time with you, associates with you, or accompanies you when you go places. Pets are also commonly considered companions. The word companion implies that you spend a lot of time together. A person you call a companion can be a friend or a romantic partner. A travel companion is someone you travel with. Companionship is the state of spending time with someone or having someone to spend time with—the state of having a companion or being someone’s companion. Sometimes, a hired helper is called a companion, especially when they help to take care of an older person. Companion is sometimes also used to refer to a thing that accompanies or complements something else, such as in the phrase companion piece, which often refers to an artistic work that pairs well with another work. More specifically, a companion refers to a handbook, guidebook, or field guide (the word is especially used in the titles of such books). In astronomy, companion is used in a more specific way to refer to a companion star—the less bright star in a set of stars called a double star. (The brighter star is called the primary.)Example: People make fun of older people for using dating sites, but the truth is that a lot of them are just lonely and looking for a companion.
Synonym Usage
See acquaintance.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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companionsimple
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companionssimple
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have companionedperfect
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has companionedperfect
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am companioningprogressive
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are companioningprogressive
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is companioningprogressive
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have been companioningperfect progressive
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has been companioningperfect progressive
Past
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companionedsimple
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had companionedperfect
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was companioningprogressive
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were companioningprogressive
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had been companioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of companion1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English compainoun, from Anglo-French; Old French compaignon, from Late Latin compāniōn- (stem of compāniō ) “messmate,” equivalent to com- “with, together” + pān(is) “bread” + -iōn- noun suffix; presumably as translation of a Germanic word; compare Gothic gahlaiba, Old High German galeipo; see com-, -ion
Origin of companion2
First recorded in 1730–40; alteration of Dutch kampanje “quarterdeck,” possibly from Italian compagna “pantry (of a ship)”
Explanation
A companion is one who serves as a friend or partner in something. Whether it’s travel or dinner or card-playing, your companion is the one who does it with you. The word companion is a close, um, companion to the word company, and you might as well say that someone you keep company with is your companion. Sometimes, it describes a piece of art or other work that goes with another. For instance, you might read a biography of Emily Dickenson as a companion to her studying her poems. The things go together and complement each other.
Vocabulary lists containing companion
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"Of Mice and Men"
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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:
But the sheer abundance of objects — I haven’t even mentioned the fascinating companion show-within-the-show, “The Kitchen and Its Discontents” — leaves less room for examining those campaigns and the work they performed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Regulations on AI companion bots took effect in July, aiming to curb emotional dependency and banning the creation of digital clones of real people without their consent.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
In touching later chapters the dog becomes a steadying companion to Dava as her memory abandons her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Thank you to my sublime companion Min Ah. I love you, Min Ah. You are an angel.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Rarely displaying affection in his life or letters, Washington showed his gratitude to the enslaved man who had been his constant companion.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
On the other hand, little digital companions can make AI more palatable to users, providing an entry point to show off real-world capabilities such as ordering groceries or booking reservations.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
Until this regulation came in, the reach of AI companions in China was vast.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The passenger’s family and companions were notified, the announcement said, and local authorities were going to continue the search.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Recent heat waves are inspiring makers of fans and other cooling products to position themselves as constant companions using new collaborations and influencer partnerships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
He stood up, looking at the tall reed and searching for his companions.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
It should be companioned with a key and a glossary like the Berlitz books.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
He sat at the end of the table companioned only by his wife, the conservative journalist Barbara Amiel.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 1, 2016
"All I want is for people, when they read my books, to feel companioned, to feel they're not alone in the world," she says.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 16, 2013
L'Enfant, a favored one, constantly companioned by such birds and beasts as cats, bats, dragonflies and a squirrel, is untransfigured by the gentleness that attends his living, hut ridden with black bile and curious humors.
From Time Magazine Archive
And in this sense, human and divine, music and gladness, and the measures of both, come into her name; and Cher becomes full-vowelled Cheer, and Cheerful; and Chara, companioned, opens into Choir and Choral.
From Unto This Last and Other Essays on Political Economy by John Ruskin
Once at the fort, companioning with De Baugis, and 305 with no one to deny the truth of his words, his very nature would compel him to boast of his marriage to Adele la Chesnayne.
From Beyond the Frontier A Romance of Early Days in the Middle West by Randall Parrish
She chattered away, these last few precious moments, as merrily as if Timothy were companioning the adventure of this trip to Lewisburg, but he found no tongue to reply.
From The Heart of Arethusa by Frances Barton Fox
It was made up of four deep, parallel ruts, the two outermost eroded by years of journeying cart-wheels, the inner ones worn by the companioning hoofs of many a yoke of oxen.
From Earth's Enigmas A Volume of Stories by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts
There no other wings may gleam But only yours, companioning my dream In its strange flight up new and radiant ways.
From Eight Harvard Poets by E. Estlin Cummings
We repeated the “soft words” over and over, companioning them with “O they banish our anger forever When they laurel the graves of our dead.”
From The Brothers' War by John Calvin Reed
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.
