accountant
Americannoun
-
accountants
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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 ”
Compare meaning
How does accountant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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."
Vocabulary lists containing accountant
Tax Day Words
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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Exemptions, Deductions, and Loopholes: Tax Day Vocabulary
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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.
See Examples For:
Anthony Fumo, a New Jersey-based accountant and father of two young children, said that premade meals were the first to go when his grocery bill started climbing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Consider working with a trustworthy certified public accountant or a reputable financial planner.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
"My accountant came to the school and said, 'The flood is coming, the flood is coming'," the school principal told AFP in a recent interview.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Molchanova told Kahn, the accountant, that she wanted to see her tax returns and that she wanted to be removed from JSC Interiors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
They wanted to know everything and Milkman found himself rattling off assets like an accountant, describing deals, total rents income, bank loans, and this new thing his father was looking into—the stock market.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Instead of relying on the same degree of accountants, lawyers and vendors, you can do a lot of it yourself.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 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
His campaign manager said Friday that accountants are still working on the new filing.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
After hiring lawyers and forensic accountants, he concluded that nearly all of his wealth had disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
The technical schools offer training in a wide range of fields—pharmacy technicians, medical technologists, business accountants, cosmeticians, massage therapists, court reporters, and so on.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
