audit

American  

[aw-dit] / ˈɔ dɪt /

noun

• audits
  plural

1. an official examination and verification of accounts and records, especially of financial accounts.

2. a report or statement reflecting an audit; a final statement of account.

3. the inspection or examination of a building or other facility to evaluate or improve its appropriateness, safety, efficiency, or the like.

   An energy audit can suggest ways to reduce home fuel bills.

4. Archaic. a judicial hearing.

5. Obsolete. an audience.

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verb (used with object)

• audits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• audited,
  past participle,  past
• auditing
  present participle

1. to make an audit of; examine (accounts, records, etc.) for purposes of verification.

   The accountants audited the company's books at the end of the fiscal year.

2. to attend (classes, lectures, etc.) as an auditor.

3. to make an audit of (a building or other facility) to evaluate or improve its safety, efficiency, or the like.

verb (used without object)

• audits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• audited,
  past participle,  past
• auditing
  present participle

1. to examine and verify an account or accounts by reference to vouchers.

audit British  

/ ˈɔːdɪt /

noun

1. 1. an inspection, correction, and verification of business accounts, conducted by an independent qualified accountant

   2. ( as modifier )

      audit report

2. an audited account

3. any thoroughgoing check or examination

4. archaic a hearing

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verb

1. to inspect, correct, and certify (accounts, etc)

2. to attend (classes, etc) as an auditor

audit Cultural  

1. The examination by an outside party of the accounts of an individual or corporation.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reaudit
  noun
• auditable
  adjective
• unaudited
  adjective
• well-audited
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• audits
  plural

Participles

• auditing
  present
• audited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• audit
  simple
• audits
  simple
• have audited
  perfect
• has audited
  perfect
• am auditing
  progressive
• are auditing
  progressive
• is auditing
  progressive
• have been auditing
  perfect progressive
• has been auditing
  perfect progressive

Past

• audited
  simple
• had audited
  perfect
• was auditing
  progressive
• were auditing
  progressive
• had been auditing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will audit
  simple
• will have audited
  perfect
• will be auditing
  progressive
• will have been auditing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of audit

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English audite, from Latin audītus “the sense or act of hearing,” noun derivative of audīre “to hear”

Explanation

An audit is a thorough counting, review, or assessment of a situation or collection of things. Before baking cookies, you'd better make an audit of the ingredients available to see whether there is enough sugar and butter. The most common use of the word audit is with the Internal Revenue Service, which sometimes performs an audit of a taxpayer’s finances to see whether that taxpayer has accurately reported his or her income. It can also be used in this context as a verb. It's easy to get nervous if the IRS is planning to audit you! You can also audit a class if you attend but don't pay for it. Just don't think that you'll get credit towards graduation from that.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

audit audits audited auditing

In response to cases of law enforcement officers across the country improperly accessing Flock for personal reasons, the company rolled out a voluntary audit tool in April.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Misuse proved so rampant that Langley decided Flock needed to make the audit feature standard.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The charges stem from last July, when Hilliard was administrator of the university's Nike Elite program and officials notified the internal audit department about concerns with Hilliard.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

“That’s why, from an audit standpoint, there should be more scrutiny if you’re doing business with the left hand and the right hand, because it’s easier to manipulate things,” Dubinsky said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

We made a quick audit of our competition.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Most obviously, it’s exceedingly rare, as countless studies and state audits have found.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Larger manufacturers may have the advantage because they can afford dedicated production lines, international audits and the paperwork required to enter additional countries.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

“IRS audits are rare, so there is a belief that the huge potential reward is worth the low practical risk,” said Baker.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Journalist Akram Kharief described the fire as a "national tragedy", called for fire safety audits at all public institutions and questioned why Algerians could not live "a normal life in a normal country".

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The Fowls had held on to Fowl Manor over the years, surviving war, civil unrest, and several tax audits.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

They aren’t required to file audited financials or detailed income statements with the SEC and don’t need SEC approval before they can raise money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

She said parents not eligible for the back to school bonus were particularly frustrated that the benefit was cash, and that where it was spent was not audited by the government.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Indeed, audited figures published last week by financial blogger Ed Zitron and the Financial Times indicate that OpenAI lost a staggering $38.5 billion in 2025 on revenue of $13.1 billion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

Once you get beyond the marketing material that lists entrance fees and monthly cost, contact the state agency overseeing the nonprofit CCRCs and ask for the audited disclosure documents that each facility must file.

From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026

During one seven-year period the lawyer’s tax returns had been audited, challenged, and taken to court annually.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

To find out, I analyzed my auditing firm’s database of stock market timers back to 1980.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Failure to meet GoPro's commitments under financing arrangements will "raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," the auditing firm added.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

Sokoloff, 37, alleged Mejia did not properly utilize the controller’s office to run audits on city departments and failed to keep up the auditing pace of his predecessor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

The venture capital funding goes to the nonaudit side of the business, while the auditing operation will be owned exclusively by CPAs, including Ho.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

“You’re auditing something? I thought about doing that at NYU. How is it?”

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Related Words

• analysis
• check
• examination
• investigation
• review
• scrutiny
• survey
• verification