accountant

American  

[uh-kaun-tnt] / əˈkaʊn tnt /

noun

• accountants
  plural

1. a person whose profession is inspecting and auditing personal or commercial accounts and providing financial advice to the account holders.

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accountant British  

/ əˈkaʊntənt /

noun

1. a person concerned with the maintenance and audit of business accounts and the preparation of consultant reports in tax and finance

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• accountantship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• accountants
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of accountant

First recorded in 1425–75; account + -ant; replacing late Middle English accomptant, from Middle French, Old French acuntant, present participle of acunter “to account ”

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Compare meaning

How does accountant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• actuary vs. accountant

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Explanation

An accountant is a person whose job involves keeping financial records for a business. To be a great accountant, you've got to be good at math. When a company hires an accountant, it turns over the management of its accounts to that person, who is responsible for keeping track of spending, income, and any other financial information. An accountant is also held accountable for the accuracy of a company's books, and usually has to be officially certified before working in the field. The word comes from account, by way of the Old French aconter, "to count."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

accountant accountants

Read everything before you sign, and have a lawyer or certified public accountant review the contract if necessary.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

I may never open that bistro, and perhaps that’s just as well for the accountant and the watercolor artichokes.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

Lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn are the sole executors of Epstein's estate, controlling all his wealth and possessions.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The statement added: “As the City’s accountant, auditor, and paymaster, the Controller has a responsibility to protect City of L.A. taxpayers from the impact of the LA28 Olympic Games.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

But what if I am just an average accountant?

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

And that’s before lawyers and accountants get involved, an almost certain bet if the ballot measure is approved by California voters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

In his remarks, Torrez alleged that Epstein's crimes were "made possible by handlers, by lawyers, by accountants, by others who have yet to face real consequence".

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Upon protest, Warner Bros. reversed course and sold the movie, which did little to allay concerns that its favorite creatives are accountants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

We visited the firm’s sprawling Florida Lakehouse campus to see how it’s preparing the next generation of accountants as AI changes their industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Consequently, we frequently find senior mathematical, engineering, and scientific people ardently wooed by industry and then subordinated to newly minted M.B.A.s and accountants.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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Related Words

• actuary
• analyst
• auditor
• bookkeeper
• clerk

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