noun
-
the act of accruing
-
something that has accrued
-
accounting a charge incurred in one accounting period that has not been paid by the end of it
Usage
What does accrual mean? Accrual is the process or result of gaining more of a particular thing. Accrual is the noun form of the verb accrue, which means to grow and accumulate naturally or to be added periodically. Accrual is especially used in the context of finance to refer to the growth of interest in an account. Example: A retirement fund allows for the accrual of money over the course of your career so that you can support yourself once you stop working.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of accrual
Explanation
That nest egg in the bank that gets bigger each year with interest? That's an accrual — a sum of money, or benefit of some kind, that gets bigger over time. Strictly speaking, an accrual doesn't have to be financial. Most religions believe you can obtain a spiritual accrual by doing good deeds on earth, for example. The origin of the word, as well as other similar terms such as accrue (the act of obtaining an accrual) come from the Latin word accrescere — meaning "to become larger."
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:
It expects the accrual for these charges to be recognized in the second quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
The accrual ratio is sometimes called the Sloan ratio, after an accounting professor named Richard Sloan, whose research showed that companies with cleaner earnings generally produce superior stock returns.
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
Programmable smart contracts also allow for continuous accrual of interest, automatic fee distribution, and even real-time auditability.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025
An investigation and forensic analysis subsequently identified that a "single employee with responsibility for small package delivery expense accounting intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries" starting around the end of 2021, Macy's said.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2024
But it would end up being one of many little things—a slow accrual, compounding steadily and imperceptibly toward critical mass.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
"While bonus accruals and losses in the set business may weigh on earnings, memory profits alone are likely to be substantial," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
The Federal Employees Retirement System remains a luxury, providing members a guaranteed payout based on years of service, the highest average of salaries, and accruals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Adidas blamed the 70 percent drop on one-time expenses for a strategic review, “as well as the donations and accruals for further donations.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2023
The group will use alternative funding channels from internal accruals, promoter equity funding and private placements to fund projects, Mint said.
From Reuters ● Feb. 5, 2023
The value of the assets in the sinking fund on December 31, 1917, estimating the purchased customs administration bonds at par, was $6,019,161.50, exclusive of interest accruals in 1917.
From Santo Domingo A Country with a Future by Otto Schoenrich
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.
