accompaniment
Americannoun
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something incidental or added for ornament, symmetry, etc.
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Music. a part in a composition designed to serve as background and support for more important parts.
noun
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something that accompanies or is served or used with something else
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something inessential or subsidiary that is added, as for ornament or symmetry
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music a subordinate part for an instrument, voices, or an orchestra
Other Word Forms
- nonaccompaniment noun
Etymology
Origin of accompaniment
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.
Vocabulary lists containing accompaniment
Fahrenheit 451
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Prisoner B-3087
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Music - Introductory
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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.
It’s the perfect accompaniment to the sight of Harper and Yasmin, dancing together at a club, relieved to have waved the white flag, at least for tonight.
From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026
Traditional music and drumming also provided an accompaniment to the activities.
From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026
This year brought a late, travel-related cancellation from the gifted pianist Utsav Lal, who inculcates the Indian classical tradition into his accompaniment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 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
Now try to vary the accompaniment to highlight or mimic the lyrics in some way.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
