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

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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”

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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

She wants to open doors for City Controller Kenneth Mejia to audit every dollar spent on homelessness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026

About 63% of respondents believe agentic AI will “most significantly” improve audit quality in the next three years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

An audit of the two countries' relationship was carried out last year , externalbut the government has not published the document in full, saying it contained classified information.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

He would “clean shop” at the authority, which signed off on hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses that should not have been approved, according to a recent audit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

“If you think you have any right to pry into her private affairs I’ll tell her you believe those checks are being misappropriated and you want an audit because you dont trust her.”

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

Proposition 41 would would require audits for new state special taxes and prohibit new state taxes from being exempted from a voter-approved state spending limit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026

While finance leaders anticipate that AI will enhance audits, they also worry that overreliance on AI could diminish human judgment and introduce new vulnerabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

They have also called for audits on snooping and for patients to be "properly recognised" by the Information Commissioner.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

That includes more sophisticated audits of community-based organizations that have contracts with the city to aid unhoused people, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 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

Dollars and cents aren’t the only numbers that should be audited.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

It is time we audited the instrument as seriously as the ledger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Under the act, new or higher special taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026 would be audited every four years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Since the introduction of Financial Fair Play, Paris St-Germain have been one of the most audited and scrutinised clubs in history," the club added.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Wait until Mom and Dad got home and I had to break it to them that my finances were being audited.

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

And many senior executives say such technology has been an important boost for tasks such as forecasting, asset valuations and auditing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

That’s asking a lot, however, since my auditing firm’s tracking of market-timing newsletters finds that successful market timing is no easier with bonds than it is with stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Osman, who is from Leicester in the UK, has lived in Malawi for several years and works for an auditing firm.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

In emails, Marc Treitler, Conservice’s general counsel and president of sustainability, said the company helps all parties save on utilities by auditing the bills it receives directly from providers before passing charges on to renters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Unnerved, Oppenheimer confided that every other registered student had already done the same—the hall was filled with students auditing the course for no credit, struggling to understand the subject matter without risking a grade.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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