accrue
Americanverb (used without object)
-
accrues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
accrued,
past participle, past
-
accruing
present participle
-
to happen or result as a natural growth, addition, etc.
- Synonyms:
- gather, collect, accumulate
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to be added as a matter of periodic gain or advantage, such as an employment benefit or interest on money.
Paid time off is accrued weekly, at a rate of one hour per week.
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Law. to become a present and enforceable right or demand.
verb
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to increase by growth or addition, esp (of capital) to increase by periodic addition of interest
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(often foll by to) to fall naturally (to); come into the possession (of); result (for)
-
law (of a right or demand) to become capable of being enforced
Usage
What does accrue mean? Accrue means to grow and accumulate naturally or to be added periodically. It’s especially used in the context of finance to refer to the growth of interest in an account. The past tense of accrue (accrued) can also be used as an adjective describing something that has been accumulated, as in accrued interest. The noun form of accrue is accrual. In law, accrue means to become a legal right. Example: A retirement fund allows money to accrue over the course of your career so that you can support yourself once you stop working.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
accruesimple
-
accruessimple
-
have accruedperfect
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has accruedperfect
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am accruingprogressive
-
are accruingprogressive
-
is accruingprogressive
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have been accruingperfect progressive
-
has been accruingperfect progressive
Past
-
accruedsimple
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had accruedperfect
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was accruingprogressive
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were accruingprogressive
-
had been accruingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of accrue
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English acruen, acrewen, probably from Anglo-French accru(e), Middle French accreu(e), past participle of ac(c)resitre “to increase,” from Latin accrēscere “to grow”; see ac-, crew 1, accretion
Explanation
To accrue is to accumulate or to keep growing in value or size. If you can accrue enough extra credit to build up your grade, you won't have to take the final exam. Early forms of the word accrue were used as early as the 15th century with the meaning "to increase" or "to grow." Many modern uses for accrue involve money or finances, as when you accrue, or earn, interest on a bank account. You can accrue debt too, as interest grows on top of money owed until you pay it back. It's possible to accrue benefits over the time you work somewhere, or you can accrue demerits while you're misbehaving somewhere.
Vocabulary lists containing accrue
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
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Born a Crime
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The Road
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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:
But she is currently on maternity leave and knows the interest will continue to accrue while her earnings - and therefore monthly repayments - drop.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
As in 11 postseason victories to accrue a third consecutive World Series crown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
“There’s this concept out there that if your testosterone number is higher, then all these magical benefits will accrue to you, and it’s simply not true.”
From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2026
And because there’s no loan, fees and interest don’t accrue into a larger balance than homeowners realize.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
He walked to the top of a rise and crouched and watched the day accrue.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
Interest accrues over time, which increases the loan balance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
But much more than that, it is a story about how one individual, when he accrues enough wealth and influence and connections, can work the entire global system to his benefit for very nefarious purposes.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2026
“Microsoft’s diversity of exposure to the software stack gives the company multiple ways to win depending on where the value accrues from AI adoption,” wrote Borges.
From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026
At that point, workers’ share of gross domestic product, currently 52%, “converges to zero, and most income eventually accrues to compute.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
Cerebral Control over Lower Nervous Centres.—There accrues to the brain, especially to the fore-brain of higher Vertebrates, another function besides that of grafting psychical qualities upon the reactions of the nervous system.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various
According to the organization’s latest tax filings, Adelkoff was paid $1.6 million over two years, roughly half of which came from a payout of unused vacation accrued over four decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
It had been sent after she asked to be paid in lieu of holiday entitlement she had accrued during her maternity leave.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
According to the American Bondholders Foundation, this outstanding debt now exceeds $1 trillion, thanks to accrued interest and penalties.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Last week, Bancel learned the melanoma trial had accrued enough data to reach statistical significance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
I accrued last night’s infraction because my last clean blouse was the wrong color; it’s not as if I’ve magically acquired more white ones since then.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Total U.S. household wealth reached a record $185.7 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, according to Federal Reserve data, though new wealth is disproportionately accruing to the already well-off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
"The definition has been kept so vague that almost any benefit accruing to a person can be considered or argued to be an allurement," said Abhay Thipsay, a retired Bombay High Court judge.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Only your record keeps accruing delayed retirement credits — generally 8% per year for someone with an FRA of 67 — after 67 up to 70.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
The company has also been accruing fines as air regulators demand the company take additional steps to mitigate the smell and vermin that has been drawn to the site and surrounding neighborhoods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The contract provided that all monies accruing to Malcolm X “shall be made payable by the agent to ‘Muhammad’s Mosque No. 2,’ ” but Malcolm X felt this was insufficient.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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