accomplice

accomplice — noun

1. someone who works alongside another person to carry out a crime or a clearly dis

1.nounC1
Definition

someone who works alongside another person to carry out a crime or a clearly dishonest act, sharing in the planning, the action, or the cover-up.

Example

Wren drove the getaway car, making him an accomplice in the bank robbery.

accomplice in [crime]

The judge sentenced Wen to four years for acting as an accomplice to the forger.

accomplice to [criminal]

Common collocations
  • alleged accomplice
  • willing accomplice
  • unwitting accomplice
  • former accomplice
Synonyms
  • accessory

    legal term, often someone who helps before or after the crime rather than during it

  • co-conspirator

    stresses joint planning of the crime

  • partner in crime

    informal; often used jokingly for harmless mischief

  • abettor

    formal and legal; emphasises encouraging or urging on the wrongdoer

Grammar Patterns

accomplice in [crime]

accomplice to [criminal]

Usage Note

Most often used in legal or news contexts. The noun is countable and almost always paired with 'in' (the crime) or 'to' (the main offender). Figurative uses, as in playful or moral contexts, are tagged by tone rather than by a different sense.

Common Mistakes

He was the accomplice of the murder.
He was an accomplice in the murder.
use 'in' before the crime, not 'of'.
She accompliced the thief.
She helped the thief as an accomplice.
'accomplice' is a noun only; there is no verb form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe someone who shares responsibility for a crime, but they differ in legal precision and tone. 'Accomplice' is the everyday choice and covers anyone who knowingly helps with the actual offence — driving the getaway car, distracting a guard, or unlocking a door. 'Accessory' is more technical: an accessory before the fact plans the crime without taking part, while an accessory after the fact helps the criminal escape or hide. 'Co-conspirator' stresses joint planning and is common in fraud, drug, or political-corruption cases where the agreement matters as much as the act. 'Abettor' is formal and somewhat old-fashioned, focusing on someone who urges or encourages the wrongdoer. So Wen, who unlocks the bank for the robbers, is an accomplice; the cousin who later hides the stolen money is an accessory; the manager who quietly plans the heist with them is a co-conspirator.

accomplice ↗accessory ↗co-conspiratorabettor

Common collocations

Nouns

  • accomplice in the crime
  • accomplice in the robbery
  • accomplice in the murder
  • accomplice in the fraud

Phrases

  • alleged accomplice
  • willing accomplice
  • unwitting accomplice
  • suspected accomplice
  • former accomplice

Prepositions

  • accomplice in
  • accomplice to
  • accomplice with

Etymology

LatinLate LatinOld FrenchMiddle FrenchEnglish

Borrowed into English in the late 1500s from French 'complice', meaning 'a partner or associate', which itself came from Late Latin 'complic-' / 'complex', literally 'folded together' — the same root that gives us 'complicated'. The initial 'a-' was added in English, probably under the influence of articles like 'a complice' being heard as 'an accomplice'. The criminal flavour grew stronger over time; today the word almost always points to a partner in something illegal or wrong.