From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcompanioncom‧pan‧ion /kəmˈpænjən/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 WITHsomeone you spend a lot of time with, especially a friend For ten years he had been her constant companion. His dog became his closest companion. a travelling companiondinner/drinking companion► see thesaurus at friend2 WITHone of a pair of things that go together or can be used togethercompanion to This book is a companion to Professor Farrer’s first work.companion volume/piece etc The ‘Encyclopedia of Gardening’ is a companion volume to the ‘Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers’.3 TCNused in the titles of books about a particular subject ‘A Companion to Japanese Literature’4 WITHsomeone, especially a woman, who is paid to live or travel with an older personCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesa constant/inseparable companion (=someone you spend most or all of the time with)The two boys became constant companions.a close companionAt school, we were close companions for several years.a travelling companion British English, a traveling companion American English (=someone you travel somewhere with)I knew that Dave would be a good travelling companion.a dinner/dining companion (=someone you have dinner with)We saw him in the restaurant with a very attractive dinner companion.a female/male companionDo you know who his female companion was?a good/perfect/wonderful companionFor older people a pet cat can be a very good companion.a drinking companion (=someone you go out with to drink alcohol)George was out again with his drinking companions.a lifelong companion (=someone who lives or spends time with someone throughout their life)Lucinda was her best friend and lifelong companion.a boon companion literary (=a very close friend)Charles arrived at the house, together with his boon companion Herbert.
Examples from the Corpus
companion• Yet Menard stayed with the work until one day he and a companion were parted in Wisconsin.• But I had a friend in Radio 3: so thanks, ghostly and absent companion.• He left the major part of his £60 million fortune to his close friend and companion, Jerry Edwards.• Our electronic companions tend to become obsolete as soon as we've become comfortable.• Alice had been her friend, companion, listening wall and lover.• Hazel and his companions had been on the jump for nearly two days.• However, the August fishing became so appalling that my companion and I decided to try a week in May.• Mum and Dad didn't seem to approve much of my new companions.• the Fisherman's Companion• McCarthy and three companions were the first to arrive.• Ed is a great travelling companion - funny and sensible at the same time.• Rex, his watch companion, was still in the cockpit attending to the helm.dinner/drinking companion• Irony is, after all, the modern mode, a drinking companion for resonance and wit.• He was always in charge of the evening, and Mike became his most constant drinking companion.• A dieting dinner companion ordered two appetizers and no entree one time and was extremely happy.• No doubt, too, he was dreaming pleasant dreams of his dinner companion of last night!• They occur far more through personal experience and the give-and-take of discussion with friends, neighbours, drinking companions and colleagues.• Close friend James Hewitt was the princess's dinner companion.• Both were wonderful dinner companions and I thoroughly enjoyed my evening.companion volume/piece etc• Successful use of this approach may require major organization-wide education programs as a companion piece.• Perhaps a companion volume on dynamic headspace is in the offing?• The nose is mutilated; the bust was apparently deliberately buried in late antiquity with a companion piece of slightly later date.• A companion volume to the Handy album, and very nearly as good.• The Society now wishes to produce another companion volume in the form of illustrations of labelled and name-stamped London furniture.• Along with its companion volume this book can be recommended to newcomers, and to more experienced workers.Origin companion (1200-1300) Old French compagnon, from Late Latin companio, from Latin com- ( → COM-) + panis “bread, food” 