accession

1 of 2

noun

ac·​ces·​sion ik-ˈse-shən How to pronounce accession (audio)
ak-
1
a
: the act or process by which someone rises to a position of honor or power
the accession of a new queen
a politician's accession to power
Queen Victoria's accession to the throne/crown occurred in 1837.
b
: an act of coming near or to something : approach, admittance
2
: something added : acquisition
the museum's latest accessions
3
a
: increase by something added
b
: acquisition of additional property (as by growth or increase of existing property)
4
: the act of assenting or agreeing
5
a
: the act of becoming joined : adherence
b
: the act by which one nation becomes party to an agreement already in force between other powers
6
: a sudden fit or outburst : access
accessional
ik-ˈsesh-nəl How to pronounce accession (audio)
-ˈse-shə-nᵊl
ak-
adjective

accession

2 of 2

verb

accessioned; accessioning; accessions

transitive verb

: to record in order of acquisition
Each book in the library had been carefully accessioned.

Examples of accession in a Sentence

Noun the accession of Queen Elizabeth II an exhibit of the museum's latest accessions
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
While royal watchers have gotten glimpses of the royal family photos displayed around Buckingham Palace since King Charles’ accession, the latest update offers a rare look into the pictures at Clarence House. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024 Of the 194 members of parliament who voted, just six rejected Sweden’s accession. Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has faced pressure from NATO allies to fall in line and seal Sweden’s accession to the alliance. Reuters, NBC News, 26 Feb. 2024 Ukraine’s parliament has adopted a new law on lobbying, a key recommendation of the European Commission ahead of the start of EU accession negotiations, according to Denys Maslov, chairman of the legal policy committee. Olesia Safronova, Bloomberg.com, 23 Feb. 2024 The alliance has also been boosted by Finland, a new member as of last year and one with a large standing army, and by the likely accession of Sweden. Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024 Key Background Diamondbacks’ acquisition of Endeavor notably comes about four months after oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron announced the biggest respective corporate deals of 2023 in Exxon’s $59 billion snatching of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron’s $53 billion accession of Hess. Derek Saul, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 However, royal watchers were quick to spot that the crest needs an update following King Charles' accession to the throne in 2022. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2024 In late January, the Turkish parliament ratified Sweden’s accession to NATO, bringing an end to nearly two years of stonewalling by the Turkish government. Soner Cagaptay, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024
Verb
The European Union recommended Wednesday that the bloc begins membership talks with Ukraine soon, boosting President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has made EU accession a central goal. Matthew Luxmoore, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2023 The transmission of the trove to the library has begun, as has accessioning (sorting through and processing items on the library’s end). Celia Wren, Washington Post, 29 June 2023 Should museums de-accession their art? CBS News, 3 Mar. 2021 The National Gallery accessioned some 8,300 works, including pieces by Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Edwin Church, Edward Hopper and Jenny Holzer, transforming its holdings of American and contemporary art and photography. Peggy McGlone, Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2019 The artworks that brought in the huge sums at Christie’s were being de-accessioned by the Fujita Museum in Osaka, Japan. Graham Bowley, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'accession.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French accession "acquisition, increase" (Old French also "attack of an illness"), borrowed from Latin accessiōn-, accessiō "approach, onset, paroxysm, addition, accessory," from accēdere "to approach" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at accede

Verb

derivative of accession entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1551, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Verb

1887, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of accession was in 1551

Dictionary Entries Near accession

Cite this Entry

“Accession.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accession. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

accession

noun
ac·​ces·​sion
ik-ˈsesh-ən,
ak-
1
: something added : acquisition
2
: increase by something added
3
: the act of agreeing
accession to a proposal
4
: the act of coming to office or power
the accession of a king

Legal Definition

accession

noun
ac·​ces·​sion ik-ˈse-shən, ak- How to pronounce accession (audio)
1
: increase by something added
specifically : the mode of acquiring property by which the owner of property (as a building, land, or cattle) becomes the owner of an addition by growth, improvement, increase, or labor
2
: the act of assenting or agreeing

More from Merriam-Webster on accession

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!