according to

preposition

Based on what is said or stated by; on the authority of; by the order of.

“Near-synonym: on the basis of”

First used 16th c.

Meanings

preposition
  1. Based on what is said or stated by; on the authority of; by the order of.

    According to the directions, the glue takes 24 hours to dry.

    4 more examples

    According to Captain Smith, we are not to spend more than 20 minutes on this task.

    According to him, every person was to be bought.

    1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter II, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC

    Certain parts of a species of strombus, found in the Black Sea, were used among Somali women as an aphrodisiac, according to Dr. Jacobus X.

    1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 229

    According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.

    2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55

    Synonyms: as per, per, following

  2. In a manner conforming or corresponding to; in proportion to; in accordance with.First known use 16th c.

    Near-synonym: on the basis of

    4 more examples

    You might expect him to balk, according to his temperament.

    Our zeal should be according to knowledge.

    1695, Thomas Sprat, A Discourse Made by Ld Bishop of Rochester To the Clergy of his Diocese

    there was only a frightening silence, unenlivened even by the invidious enquiries of former years, which culminated, according to its stern nature, in a still more frightening old woman, a figure awaiting her on the very doorstep.

    1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew

    Over the past 20 years, the station complex - including the main platform buildings, signal box and level crossing gates - has been lovingly restored, with the gates replaced according to original plans.

    2022 December 14, Robin Leleux, “A royal occasion as heritage projects honoured: Wolferton”, in RAIL, number 972, page 61

    Synonyms: as per, per, following, as to, on the basis of

  3. Depending on.

    They might come or not, according to their whim.

    1 more example

    The young’s chances of getting a job vary according to whether they live in the Northern or the Southern Europe..

    Synonyms: with

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositionBased on what is said or stated by; on the authority of; by the order of.

prepositionIn a manner conforming or corresponding to; in proportion to; in accordance with.

prepositionDepending on.

Similar
Also see

Translations

Afrikaans volgens, aldus
  • volgensbased on statement
  • aldusbased on statement
  • ooreenkomstigin proportion
Ancient Greek κατά, συν
  • κατά (katá)based on statement
  • συν (sun)based on statement
Arabic طِبْقًا لِـ, وَفْقًا لِـ
  • طِبْقًا لِـ (ṭibqan li-)based on statement
  • وَفْقًا لِـ (wafqan li-)based on statement
  • بِالنِّسْبَة لِـin proportion
Bulgarian според, съответно
  • според (spored)based on statement
  • съответно (săotvetno)in proportion
  • в съгласие с (v săglasie s)in proportion
Catalan segons
  • segonsbased on statement
Chinese Cantonese 按照, 對……嚟講 /对……嚟讲
  • 按照 (on³ ziu³)based on statement
  • 對……嚟講 /对……嚟讲 (deoi³…lei⁴ gong²)based on statement
  • 根據 /根据 (gan¹ geoi³)based on statement
Chinese Mandarin 根據 /根据, 按照
  • 根據 /根据 (gēnjù)based on statement
  • 按照 (ànzhào)based on statement
  • 依據 /依据 (yījù)based on statement
  • 根據 /根据 (gēnjù)in proportion
  • 按照 (ànzhào)in proportion
  • 依據 /依据 (yījù)in proportion
Czech podle, podle
  • podlebased on statement
  • podlein proportion
Danish ifølge, ifølge
  • ifølgebased on statement
  • ifølgein proportion
Dutch volgens, aldus
  • volgensbased on statement
  • aldusbased on statement
  • overeenkomstigin proportion
Esperanto laŭ
  • laŭbased on statement
Estonian vastavalt, kohaselt
  • vastavaltbased on statement
  • kohaseltbased on statement
  • järgibased on statement
Finnish mukaan, suhteessa
  • mukaanbased on statement
  • suhteessain proportion
French selon, d'après
  • selonbased on statement
  • d'aprèsbased on statement
  • selonin proportion
German laut, gemäß
  • lautbased on statement
  • gemäßbased on statement
  • zufolgebased on statement
  • nachbased on statement
  • entsprechendin proportion
Greek σύμφωνα με
  • σύμφωνα με (sýmfona me)based on statement
Hebrew לפי, על פי
  • לפי (lefí)based on statement
  • על פי (al pi)based on statement
Hindi के मुताबिक़
  • के मुताबिक़ (ke mutābiq)based on statement
Hungarian szerint, arányos
  • szerintbased on statement
  • arányosin proportion
  • megfelelőin proportion
  • összhangban (lévő/álló)in proportion
Icelandic samkvæmt
  • samkvæmtbased on statement
Indonesian menurut, mengikuti
  • menurutbased on statement
  • mengikutiin proportion
Irish dar le, de réir
  • dar lebased on statement
  • de réirbased on statement
Italian secondo, in base a
  • secondobased on statement
  • in base abased on statement
  • ai sensi dibased on statement
  • a secondain proportion
Japanese ...によると, の分だけ
  • ...によると (...ni yoru to)based on statement
  • の分だけ (no bun dake)in proportion
Korean ...에 따르면
  • ...에 따르면 (...e ttareumyeon)based on statement
Latin in, secundum
  • inbased on statement
  • secundumbased on statement
  • inin proportion
Lithuanian pasak
  • pasakbased on statement
Norwegian Bokmål ifølge
  • ifølgebased on statement
Persian طبق
  • طبق (tebqe)based on statement
Polish według, podług
  • wedługbased on statement
  • podługbased on statement
  • wedlebased on statement
  • zgodnie zbased on statement
  • w zgodzie zbased on statement
  • odpowiednioin proportion
  • zgodnie zin proportion
  • w zgodzie zin proportion
Portuguese de acordo com, segundo
  • de acordo combased on statement
  • segundobased on statement
  • conformebased on statement
  • de acordo comin proportion
  • segundoin proportion
  • conformein proportion
Romanian conform
  • conformbased on statement
Russian согла́сно, в соотве́тствии с
  • согла́сно (soglásno)based on statement
  • в соотве́тствии с (v sootvétstvii s)based on statement
  • соотве́тственно (sootvétstvenno)in proportion
Scottish Gaelic a rèir, a rèir
  • a rèirbased on statement
  • a rèirin proportion
Slovak podľa
  • podľabased on statement
Spanish según, según
  • segúnbased on statement
  • segúnin proportion
  • acorde ain proportion
  • conforme ain proportion
Swahili mujibu
  • mujibubased on statement
Swedish enligt, enligt
  • enligtbased on statement
  • enligtin proportion
  • i enlighet medin proportion
Tagalog ayon sa
  • ayon sabased on statement
Tamil படி
  • படி (paṭi)based on statement
Thai ตามที่
  • ตามที่ (dtaam têe)based on statement
Turkish göre
  • görebased on statement
Ukrainian згідно, згі́дно
  • згідно (zhidno)based on statement
  • згі́дно (zhídno)in proportion
  • відпові́дно (vidpovídno)in proportion
Urdu بَقَول, بامُطابِق
  • بَقَول (baqaul)based on statement
  • بامُطابِق (bamut̤ābiq)based on statement
  • کے مطابق (ke mutābiq)based on statement
Vietnamese theo, theo như
  • theobased on statement
  • theo nhưbased on statement
  • tùyin proportion
  • tùy theoin proportion
Welsh yn ôl, yn ôl
  • yn ôlbased on statement
  • yn ôlin proportion
Yiddish לויט, וועדליק
  • לויט (loyt)based on statement
  • וועדליק (vedlik)based on statement
  • על־פּי (al-pi)based on statement
  • פּאָדליג (podlig)based on statement
  • כּפֿי (kefi)based on statement
Cite this entry
APA

according to. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/according%20to

MLA

“according to.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/according%20to. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “according to,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/according%20to.

Source: according to on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.