auditor
Americannoun
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a person appointed and authorized to examine accounts and accounting records, compare the charges with the vouchers, verify balance sheet and income items, and state the result.
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a university student registered for a course without credit and without obligation to do work assigned to the class.
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a hearer; listener.
noun
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a person qualified to audit accounts
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a person who hears or listens
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a registered student who attends a class that is not an official part of his course of study, without actively participating it
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of auditor
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English auditour, from Anglo-French, from Latin audītor “hearer,” from audī(re) “to hear” + -tor -tor
Explanation
An auditor is someone who inspects accounting records. Don’t cheat on your taxes, or an auditor might come and check your figures. An auditor is also an attentive listener. That kind is usually more fun. The word auditor is Latin for “hearer.” This word still applies to someone who listens closely, but it also refers to a kind of accountant who checks the financial records of other people, usually to make sure nothing illegal is going on. If the Internal Revenue Service demands an audit, an auditor will go over your financial records with a fine-toothed comb. This process used to be done verbally, so both kinds of auditors need good hearing.
Vocabulary lists containing auditor
Common Senses: Aud ("Hear")
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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aud
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A 2020 report by India's Comptroller and Auditor General, using satellite imagery and field verification, found around 34 percent of surveyed licensed mines extended beyond their legal boundaries.
From Barron's • May 31, 2026
Nebraska law bars “any personal use whatsoever” of state-owned vehicles, and State Auditor Mike Foley is determined to slam the brakes on such “joyriding.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Yokeley was appointed to the chair position by State Auditor Dave Boliek in June.
From Salon • Aug. 28, 2025
The report raised concerns about a number of recent issues, some of them previously highlighted by the Auditor General.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2025
He appears as Auditor of the Exchequer more than once; he travelled through England on several occasions, and was pensioned by Robert II.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3 Atrebates to Bedlis by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
