audit

American  

[aw-dit] / ˈɔ dɪt /

noun

• audits
  plural

1. an official examination and verification of accounts and records, especially of financial accounts.

2. a report or statement reflecting an audit; a final statement of account.

3. the inspection or examination of a building or other facility to evaluate or improve its appropriateness, safety, efficiency, or the like.

   An energy audit can suggest ways to reduce home fuel bills.

4. Archaic. a judicial hearing.

5. Obsolete. an audience.

---

verb (used with object)

• audits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• audited,
  past participle,  past
• auditing
  present participle

1. to make an audit of; examine (accounts, records, etc.) for purposes of verification.

   The accountants audited the company's books at the end of the fiscal year.

2. to attend (classes, lectures, etc.) as an auditor.

3. to make an audit of (a building or other facility) to evaluate or improve its safety, efficiency, or the like.

verb (used without object)

• audits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• audited,
  past participle,  past
• auditing
  present participle

1. to examine and verify an account or accounts by reference to vouchers.

audit British  

/ ˈɔːdɪt /

noun

1. 1. an inspection, correction, and verification of business accounts, conducted by an independent qualified accountant

   2. ( as modifier )

      audit report

2. an audited account

3. any thoroughgoing check or examination

4. archaic a hearing

---

verb

1. to inspect, correct, and certify (accounts, etc)

2. to attend (classes, etc) as an auditor

audit Cultural  

1. The examination by an outside party of the accounts of an individual or corporation.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reaudit
  noun
• auditable
  adjective
• unaudited
  adjective
• well-audited
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• audits
  plural

Participles

• auditing
  present
• audited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• audit
  simple
• audits
  simple
• have audited
  perfect
• has audited
  perfect
• am auditing
  progressive
• are auditing
  progressive
• is auditing
  progressive
• have been auditing
  perfect progressive
• has been auditing
  perfect progressive

Past

• audited
  simple
• had audited
  perfect
• was auditing
  progressive
• were auditing
  progressive
• had been auditing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will audit
  simple
• will have audited
  perfect
• will be auditing
  progressive
• will have been auditing
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of audit

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English audite, from Latin audītus “the sense or act of hearing,” noun derivative of audīre “to hear”

---

Explanation

An audit is a thorough counting, review, or assessment of a situation or collection of things. Before baking cookies, you'd better make an audit of the ingredients available to see whether there is enough sugar and butter. The most common use of the word audit is with the Internal Revenue Service, which sometimes performs an audit of a taxpayer’s finances to see whether that taxpayer has accurately reported his or her income. It can also be used in this context as a verb. It's easy to get nervous if the IRS is planning to audit you! You can also audit a class if you attend but don't pay for it. Just don't think that you'll get credit towards graduation from that.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

audit audits audited auditing

An earlier audit of the museum’s security protocols found that the Louvre’s video surveillance and physical security systems relied on a weak password, “LOUVRE.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The plan, including the eligibility, application, approval, disbursement, control and audit requirements, will be finalised by the Fifa council at its next meeting in December 2026.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Impause is an app that lets you audit your own spending habits through gamification.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Sarma, a former senior government official who worked in the power and finance ministries, has called for a water audit by an independent agency.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

“And the staff and the tax audit and the media attention and the people who wanted Joey to throw the fight, too.”

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

So far the audits have led to the removal of 10,000 apartments from the program, according to city officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

With voter anxiety growing, the heads of major AI companies signed a White House accord on September 29 pledging independent audits and board-level oversight of cutting-edge models.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Cohen said her office sought funding from the governor and the state to conduct homeless audits but was denied.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

UN safety audits have shown particular risks to women and girls at night, causing them to avoid camp toilets and bathrooms.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The Fowls had held on to Fowl Manor over the years, surviving war, civil unrest, and several tax audits.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Under the act, new or higher special taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026 would be audited every four years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Abbott has tried to ameliorate these concerns by requiring all new data centers to be audited by the state, a step that policy experts and Democrats have criticized as insufficient.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

The right answer is safeguards, not pretending a publicly visible plate is private: short retention, audited access, limits on data sharing, and a warrant for broad historical-tracking queries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

She said parents not eligible for the back to school bonus were particularly frustrated that the benefit was cash, and that where it was spent was not audited by the government.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

During one seven-year period the lawyer’s tax returns had been audited, challenged, and taken to court annually.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Tomé’s story echoed those I’ve heard from other board members, who spend hours poring over financial audits but little time auditing people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

In the recording, the officer is heard saying that the office’s auditing team was cut by the state and that the office doesn’t have the resources to proactively perform audits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

That’s asking a lot, however, since my auditing firm’s tracking of market-timing newsletters finds that successful market timing is no easier with bonds than it is with stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Osman, who is from Leicester in the UK, has lived in Malawi for several years and works for an auditing firm.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

“You’re auditing something? I thought about doing that at NYU. How is it?”

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• analysis
• check
• examination
• investigation
• review
• scrutiny
• survey
• verification

---