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accompany
/əˈkʌmpəni/
go somewhere with someone
She will accompany her brother to the doctor's appointment.
She will go with her brother to his medical visit.
neutral
to go somewhere with someone as a companion or escort
The guide will accompany the tourists through the museum.
The guide will lead the tourists through the museum.
He accompanied her to the train station to say goodbye.
He went with her to the train station to bid farewell.
Often implies a supportive or helpful role, but not always. Can also mean to exist or occur at the same time as something else.
technical
to play or provide musical background for a performance
The pianist accompanied the singer during the recital.
The pianist provided musical support for the singer's performance.
Commonly used in musical contexts to describe instrumental support for a vocalist or soloist.
formal
to supplement or add to something else
The report was accompanied by a detailed statistical appendix.
The report included a detailed statistical appendix as a supplement.
Used in formal writing to indicate that one thing exists alongside another.
Collocations
accompany someone to a placego with someone to a locationaccompanied by musicwith music playing in the backgroundaccompanied by documentswith documents attached
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Preposition Usage
Use 'with' after 'accompany' when referring to people (e.g., 'accompany with a friend'), but use 'by' for things (e.g., 'accompanied by a letter').
Gold Rule
Avoid Redundancy
Do not use 'accompany with' when referring to people; 'accompany' alone is sufficient (e.g., 'She accompanied her friend' is correct; 'She accompanied with her friend' is incorrect).
Word Origin
From Middle English *accompainen*, from Old French *acompagner* (modern *accompagner*), from *a-* (to) + *compagnier* (to companion), from *compagnie* (company, companionship), from Late Latin *companio* (companion), from *com-* (with) + *panis* (bread). Literally 'to break bread with'.
Usage Notes
The verb can be transitive (require an object) or intransitive in some contexts (e.g., 'The birds accompanied us on our walk'). In musical contexts, it often takes a direct object (the performer being accompanied).
Word Breakdown
ac-
to, toward
prefix-compan-
companion, bread-sharing
root-y
verb-forming suffix
suffixEnglish Dictionary