1. Music. A vocal or instrumental part that supports another, often solo, part.
2. Something, such as a situation, that accompanies something else; a concomitant.
3. Something added for embellishment, completeness, or symmetry; complement.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.