accompaniment

American  

[uh-kuhm-puh-ni-muhnt, uh-kuhmp-ni-] / əˈkʌm pə nɪ mənt, əˈkʌmp nɪ- /

noun

1. something incidental or added for ornament, symmetry, etc.

2. Music. a part in a composition designed to serve as background and support for more important parts.

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accompaniment British  

/ əˈkʌmpnɪ-, əˈkʌmpənɪmənt /

noun

1. something that accompanies or is served or used with something else

2. something inessential or subsidiary that is added, as for ornament or symmetry

3. music a subordinate part for an instrument, voices, or an orchestra

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Other Word Forms

• nonaccompaniment noun

Etymology

Origin of accompaniment

First recorded in 1725–35; accompany + -ment

Explanation

If your menu tonight consists of grilled pork and savory apples, then the pork is the main item and the apples are the accompaniment, meaning they complement the main dish. The noun accompaniment entered English in the eighteenth century and originally was used in a musical sense to describe a part in a song that supports or acts as background for another more prominent part. Its meaning later expanded to include not only musical assistance but other things that completes or make better the main thing. You’ll often hear it used to describe a food that supports the main item on a plate.

Example Sentences

They’ve also allowed people to organize things like court accompaniment, protection for religious services and food drives.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

Tom has reached an age when he can no longer get around the house without an accompaniment of creaks and groans and thuds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

Together, they are trying to understand why the doxology, always sung “in one way and one way only” suddenly has been “pepped up” with an energetic organ accompaniment.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

Featuring a voice-over from Peterlee-born actress Gina McKee, the musical accompaniment was a church-like choral arrangement in a nod to supporters' viewing the sport as akin to a religion.

From BBC • Oct. 4, 2025

At the opposite end of the building a five-thousand-voice choir sang Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus to the accompaniment of five hundred musicians.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson