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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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:
"You'll start to see production with a brand-new Doctor, a brand-new companion, summer next year."
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
That is especially true, added Parks, if Apple’s hub and its companion LG devices just work easily.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
A trip to Paris to work for a family who needs a companion for their child leads to pianoforte lessons, but with no prospect of a public life as a musician.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Wedged in the tiny space between irrelevancy and timeliness, Sorkin’s companion piece doesn’t need to say anything new to do its job.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The man next to him was older and dressed well, and unlike his companion, he looked actively uncomfortable in his clothing.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Breaking through Holmes’ tight circle of dubious companions, Fielder pulls at every thread he can, attempting to unravel a greater truth from life’s gnarled yarn.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
Cats, Ms. Fullerton explains, are ideal companions for men and women of letters, whose “lonely occupation” may be alleviated by furry injections of playfulness and curiosity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Scientists have observed many planetary systems with stable orbits, along with a small number of stars caught rapidly swallowing their planetary companions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Brussels last month also proposed forcing companies to make AI companions and chatbots safe before children use them.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
And they’d make stunning companions to the purple fungi that spread like a lumpy blanket over the fallen log up there.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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
A creature like Toad is not a tree, but is designed to move across earth's surface, perpendicular to gravity and companioned by time.
From Time Magazine Archive
So long as roads were passable, and skies at all propitious, Mrs. Edwards was certain to ride to Caerphilly market, companioned by Rhys, less for protection than for his instruction.
From The Making of William Edwards or The Story of the Bridge of Beauty by Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks
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
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
The child seemed in her loneliness to reach out for companioning.
From The Convert by Elizabeth Robins
Some take the words "which followed them" to mean that the spiritual rock accompanied the children of Israel, companioning with them—"comitante petra," not "petra consequente," Christ being spiritually present in the word and by faith.
From Epistle Sermons, Vol. II Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost by John Nicholas Lenker
Brunston and other Scottish lairds of Wishart’s circle were agents of the plot, and in 1545-46 our George Wishart is found companioning with them.
From John Knox and the Reformation by Andrew Lang
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