Synonyms

accredit

American

[uh-kred-it] / əˈkrɛd ɪt /

verb (used with object)

to provide or send with credentials; designate officially.

to accredit an envoy.
to certify (a school, college, or the like) as meeting all formal official requirements of academic excellence, curriculum, facilities, etc.
to make authoritative, creditable, or reputable; sanction.
to regard as true; believe.
to ascribe or attribute to (usually followed bywith ).

He was accredited with having said it.
to attribute or ascribe; consider as belonging.

an invention accredited to Edison.

accredit British

/ əˈkrɛdɪt /

verb

to ascribe or attribute
to give official recognition to; sanction; authorize
to certify or guarantee as meeting required standards
1. to furnish or send (an envoy, etc) with official credentials
2. to appoint (someone) as an envoy, etc
to pass (a candidate) for university entrance on school recommendation without external examination

there are six accrediting schools in the area

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Present

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Etymology

Origin of accredit

First recorded in 1610–20; earlier acredit, from Middle French acrediter; see ac-, credit

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:

accredit accredits accredited accrediting

Last year, Florida and five other states established the Commission for Public Higher Education to accredit their public university systems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

Vienna has so far refused to accredit Taliban-appointed diplomats, although the Austrian government has held direct talks with Taliban authorities over deportations this year.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025

But scores more accredit Piker for either their radicalization or their de-radicalization.

From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2025

With close to 2,000 members today, the organization offers training programs that accredit EFT practitioners, similar to the EFT Tapping Training Institute and a handful of other organizations.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2023

Birds are plentiful on the Rockies, and the accumulating information concerning them may, in a few years, accredit Colorado with having more kinds of birds than any other State.

From Wild Life on the Rockies by Enos Abijah Mills

For years, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredits M.D.-granting programs, required medical schools to establish programs “aimed at achieving diversity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

Social Work England, which accredits these courses, clearly states the curriculum should be updated to reflect the law.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2024

According to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, which oversees the academy and accredits law enforcement officers statewide, Allen is the subject of an ongoing decertification investigation.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 2023

High rates of restraining psychiatric inpatients do not automatically spur any action by federal authorities, California hospital regulators or the Joint Commission, a nonprofit agency that accredits L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

In this way he accredits to the careless reader all the false charges or baseless concessions which he makes on any question between Euripides and his rivals.

From The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 by Alexander H. (Alexander Hay) Japp

Other recommendations include a new senior constable rank to reward and recognise experienced frontline officers who provide leadership and mentor colleagues, as well as nationally accredited training for new constables.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

We also need a new category of healthcare professionals with graduate degrees obtained from accredited universities and institutes and whose training is centered on healthy longevity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

“It’s not easy when you have 300,000 accredited people to process. “Our world is very aggressive; security is more important than anything.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

These opportunities are open to accredited investors, generally people who have a net worth over $1 million, excluding their primary residence, or high-income households.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

Of course, the same criticism could be leveled against America’s fully accredited four-year colleges.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

They point to the growing number of countries which have conferred de facto recognition by clinching deals, accrediting diplomats, operating embassies, and more.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

EAC also oversees the federal testing and certification program for voting systems, accrediting labs and certifying whether machines meet federal standards known as the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

Many institutional accreditors oversee colleges and universities nationwide, and many state teacher licensing authorities recognize multiple accrediting bodies for training programs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026

Film School violated federal employment requirements and accrediting standards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025

I place before the Ephors the terrors of accrediting that charge, in order that they may repudiate it.

From Pausanias, the Spartan The Haunted and the Haunters, an Unfinished Historical Romance by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023