access

B1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈækˌsɛs/ UK /ˈæksɛs/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like excess /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #1748

Meanings

1

noun
The right or chance to use, enter, or reach something.

Students have free access to the library all year round.
2

noun
A way of entering or reaching a place.

The only access to the cottage is a narrow dirt road.
3

verb
To reach or get to something.

How do you access the attic in this house?
4

verb
To open or retrieve data from a computer or storage device.

I accessed my files from a remote server.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a way of entering or... approach

3 verb · to reach or get to something. get at

Word family

Forms accessedaccessesaccessing

Derived forms accesslessaccessoraccesswaydeaccesse-accessinaccessmultiaccessnonaccessreaccessself-accessunaccessed

Related forms accede accessary accessibility accessible accessibly accession accessory

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

access time
the delay between requesting stored computer data and receiving it

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Access entered English in the Middle English period and derives from the family of Latin cedere, “to yield, give way, go.” Its underlying sense was “go to.”

Etymology

From Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) + cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.

accesse Middle English acces Middle French accessus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# access

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈækˌsɛs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæksɛs/
**Frequency rank:** 1748

## Meanings
1. The right or chance to use, enter, or reach something.
2. A way of entering or reaching a place.
3. To reach or get to something.
4. To open or retrieve data from a computer or storage device.

## Examples
- Students have free access to the library all year round.
- The only access to the cottage is a narrow dirt road.
- How do you access the attic in this house?
- I accessed my files from a remote server.

## Derived Forms
- accessless
- accessor
- accessway
- deaccess
- e-access
- inaccess
- multiaccess
- nonaccess
- reaccess
- self-access
- unaccessed

## Related Forms
- accede
- accessary
- accessibility
- accessible
- accessibly
- accession
- accessory

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: accesse
- Root: acces
- Root: accessus

## Etymology
From Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) + cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.

## AI Etymology
Access comes from Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) plus cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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