accession
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A coming to.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhksehshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əkˈsɛʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A coming to; the act of acceding and becoming joined.
The act of coming to or reaching a throne, an office, or dignity.
Something added to what you already have
“The librarian shelved the new accessions.”
Increase by something added; that which is added; augmentation from without.
The act of attaining or gaining access to a new office or right or position (especially the throne)
Access; admittance.
verb
Make a record of additions to a collection, such as a library
transitive
To make a record of (additions to a collection); to add (something) to a collection (usually a museum's or archive's collection).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A coming to; the act of acceding and becoming joined.
'Accession' often refers to a formal process, like taking a throne, joining a group, or adding an item to a collection. It's more official than simply 'joining' and usually implies a ceremonial or administrative act.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Historical texts
“The queen's accession to the throne was widely celebrated.”
Museums/Libraries
“The new painting's accession number is 2023.001.”
International relations
“The country's accession to the alliance strengthened security.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use accession
- “The librarian shelved the new accessions.”noun
- “Accession to such demands would set a dangerous precedent.”noun
- “The art collection grew through accession.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.
