auditor

American  

[aw-di-ter] / ˈɔ dɪ tər /

noun

• auditors
  plural

1. 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.

2. a university student registered for a course without credit and without obligation to do work assigned to the class.

3. a hearer; listener.

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auditor British  

/ ˈɔːdɪtə /

noun

1. a person qualified to audit accounts

2. a person who hears or listens

3. a registered student who attends a class that is not an official part of his course of study, without actively participating it

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• auditorship
  noun
• subauditor
  noun
• superauditor
  noun
• auditorial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• auditors
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

auditor auditors

"I don't know where she is or how she is. My wife is an auditor and I have no issues with anyone," he was quoted by Nyasa Times as saying.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Enviva’s auditor determined the RWE sales proceeds couldn’t be booked as revenue given the corresponding purchase obligations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Compliance would be policed for 10 years by an independent auditor chosen jointly by Meta and the states, and paid for by the company.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

So keep good records in case the tax man comes knocking, said Moll, “and hope the auditor or the judge agrees.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

My dad is an auditor for a big accounting firm.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Over the past few weeks she’s received questions about whether auditors can speak freely without retaliation from the labs and if evaluators can gain sufficient access to the necessary materials needed to conduct an audit.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Independent auditors also suggested the party's manual journal entries and related party transactions remained at "heightened risk of fraud".

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The school has adopted the auditors recommendations “to demonstrate legal support for the allowability of the internal borrowings,” according to a school spokesman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Several months earlier, county auditors identified lax accounting procedures that resulted in LAHSA’s failure to pay its contractors on time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

We, his auditors, were enthralled—swept away in awe.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• accountant
• actuary
• bookkeeper