Definition of: accessory

(ak·ses′ər·ē) noun plural ·ries
1. A person or thing that aids subordinately; an adjunct; appurtenance; accompaniment.
2. plural Such items of apparel as complete an outfit, as gloves, scarf, hat, or handbag.
3. Law A person who even if not present, is concerned, either before or after, in the perpetration of a felony below the crime of treason. See also note under ACCESSARY.
—adjective
1. Aiding the principal design, or assisting subordinately the chief agent, as in the commission of a crime.
2. Contributory; supplemental; additional: accessory nerves. Also accessary. [<Laccessorius <accessus, pp. of accedere.
See ACCEDE.]
—ac·ces′ so·ri·ly adverb
—ac·ces′so·ri·ness noun Synonyms (noun): abetter or abettor, accomplice, ally, assistant, associate, attendant, coadjutor, colleague, companion, confederate, follower, helper, henchman, participator, partner, retainer. Colleague is used always in a good sense, associate and coadjutor generally so; ally, assistant, associate, attendant, companion, helper, either in a good or a bad sense; abettor, accessory, accomplice, confederate, almost always in a bad sense. In law, an abettor (the general legal spelling) is always present, either actively or constructively, at the commission of the crime; an accessory never. An accomplice is usually a principal; an accessory never. If present, though only to stand outside and keep watch against surprise, one is an abettor, and not an accessory. At common law, an accessory implies a principal, and cannot be convicted until after the conviction of the principal: the accomplice or abettor can be convicted as a principal. Accomplice and abettor have nearly the same meaning, but the former is the popular, the latter the legal term. Compare APPENDAGE, AUXILIARY. Antonyms: adversary, antagonist, betrayer, chief, commander, enemy, foe, hinderer, instigator, leader, opponent, principal, rival.