accompany

verb

ac·​com·​pa·​ny ə-ˈkəmp-nē 

-ˈkämp-;

-ˈkəm-pə-,

-ˈkäm- 

accompanied; accompanying

transitive verb

1

: to go with as an associate or companion

She accompanied me to the store.

2

: to perform an accompaniment to or for

He will be accompanying her on the piano.

3

a

: to cause to be in association

accompanied their advice with a warning

b

: to be in association with

the pictures that accompany the text

intransitive verb

music : to perform an accompaniment

Synonyms

• attend
• chaperone
• chaperon
• companion
• company
• convoy
• escort
• see
• squire

Examples of accompany in a Sentence

She will accompany me to the store.

Ten adults accompanied the class on their field trip.

Children under 17 must be accompanied by an adult to see this movie.

A delicious sauce accompanied the grilled fish.

He will be accompanying her on the piano.

Recent Examples on the Web

Every season, Netflix’s hit action-thriller The Night Agent introduces a new story and new characters around title character Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), who has been accompanied so far by Luciane Buchanan’s Rose Larkin. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025

While targets can focus efforts and create accountability, they must be accompanied by robust unconscious bias training and inclusive, psychologically safe environments. —London Business School, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025

The watch is accompanied by an extract from the Audemars Piguet archives, though no other accessories are available. —Blake Buettner, Robb Report, 24 Jan. 2025

This extreme winter weather and accompanying bitingly cold temperatures led to severe disruption to travel due to unsafe roads and flights being cancelled, and also claimed the lives of at least 11 people as a result of car crashes and hypothermia. —John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English accompanien "to make (someone) a companion or associate, be in company with, attend," borrowed from Anglo-French acumpainer, acompaigner "to join together, frequent, keep the company of," from a-, prefix forming transitive verbs (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + cumpaing, cumpaignun companion entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

accompany

verb

ac·​com·​pa·​ny ə-ˈkəmp-(ə-)nē 

accompanied; accompanying

1

: to go with or attend as a companion

2

: to perform an accompaniment to or for

3

: to occur at the same time as or along with

a thunderstorm accompanied by high winds

Etymology

Middle English accompanien "to accompany," from early French acompaigner (same meaning), from a- "to" and cumpaing "companion," from Latin companio "companion" — related to companion, company