accountant
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- accountantship noun
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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Exemptions, Deductions, and Loopholes: Tax Day Vocabulary
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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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 58-year-old Italian accountant won the second edition, in 2020, after her son bought her a ticket for Christmas.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Here’s a nightmare scenario that might scare people into thinking hard about who they are hiring: One woman is fighting a $328,000 tax bill because her accountant improperly claimed deductions behind her back.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
Initially Garcia, an accountant with “Dancing with the Stars,” applied to add an ADU to his property but changed his mind because of the cost.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
“It was like a magic show where the illusion is happening in front of us,” said R. Rao, a 45-year-old accountant from the southern city of Udupi who was a victim.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
He concluded that there was effectively no way for an accountant assigned to audit a giant Wall Street firm to figure out whether it was making money or losing money.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
