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:
Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant who worked on the Enron and Madoff cases, says the issue comes down to the motivation of the parties and can be explained through an analogy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Kal Storch, a 36-year-old production accountant based in Atlanta, had a similar reaction.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
However, his father Harry had made good, moved to Birmingham and worked as an accountant at the Midlands Electricity Board.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“I go through lots of screening calls and they go nowhere,” said Norig Karakashian, an accountant in Glendale, Calif., who’s been looking for a job for the last year and a half.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Luis Hernandez Osorio, a small man with dark, intense eyes, puts in eight hours a day as an accountant and then another eight at the church.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
In fact, the American public includes bankers, farmers, workers, traders, builders and accountants, who together spend billions of hours interacting with the government through filling out forms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
That’s why financial advisers hire tax accountants and doctors hire specialists.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
His campaign manager said Friday that accountants are still working on the new filing.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Ministers say lawyers, accountants and architects are among professionals who will benefit.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
None of his fellow accountants was able to explain why the traders were doing what they were doing.
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.
