accompanying

IPA/əˈkʌmpəniɪŋ/
KK[əkˈʌmpəniɪŋ]IPA/əˈkʌmpəniɪŋ/

accompanying — adjective

  • accompanyingpositive
  • more accompanyingcomparative
  • most accompanyingsuperlative

1. placed or sent together with another thing or person; appearing alongside someth

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

placed or sent together with another thing or person; appearing alongside something else — for example, a document that arrives with a product, or a photograph that runs next to a news article.

Example

The job posting said to send a cover letter with an accompanying résumé by Friday.

accompanying + résumé — document that goes with another document

The museum exhibit had a Shang-dynasty bronze cup with an accompanying card describing its origin.

accompanying + card — label that goes with an exhibit

Synonyms
  • associated

    broader — can mean connected in any way, not necessarily physically together

  • attendant

    more formal; often implies something that follows as a result or service

  • related

    suggests a logical connection rather than physical co-occurrence

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

accompanying + noun

Usage Note

Accompanying is nearly always used before a noun (attributive position). It has no comparative or superlative form.

Common Mistakes

The instructions are accompanying the box.
The instructions are in the accompanying box.
Accompanying is an attributive adjective; it goes before the noun, not in a predicate position after a linking verb.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe a connection between two things, but they differ in closeness and register. Associated is the broadest — it can mean connected in any way ("problems associated with aging") without implying physical co-presence. Attendant is more formal and often suggests something that follows as a natural or official accompaniment ("attendant risks," "attendant paperwork"). Related focuses on logical or causal ties ("related issues") rather than physical togetherness. Accompanying is the most concrete of the four: it typically means the second item is physically or materially present alongside the first — a map that comes in the same envelope, a photo that runs next to a news story.

associated ↗attendant ↗related ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • with an accompanying...
  • the accompanying...

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

From Old French acompaignier, from Latin ad- ('to') + companio ('one who eats bread with you', from com- 'together' + panis 'bread'). The adjective form accompanying developed in the early 1600s.