audit
[aw-dit]
- an official examination and verification of accounts and records, especially of financial accounts.
- a report or statement reflecting an audit; a final statement of account.
- 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.
- Archaic. a judicial hearing.
- Obsolete. an audience.
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- 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.
- to attend (classes, lectures, etc.) as an auditor.
- to make an audit of (a building or other facility) to evaluate or improve its safety, efficiency, or the like.
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- to examine and verify an account or accounts by reference to vouchers.
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Origin of audit
1400–50; late Middle English audite < Latin audītus the sense or act of hearing, equivalent to audī(re) to hear + -tus suffix of v. action
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for auditing
Contemporary Examples
Which is more responsible: too big to fail, or auditing the Fed?
Do you really trust the people who are tapping your phone and auditing your taxes to take over your medical records?
Auditing is an integral part of advancement in the ranks of Scientology.
In the auditing process, adherents may disclose details of their personal life, and a record of the audit is placed in a file.
“There are no meaningful boundaries” in auditing, Ross said.
Historical Examples
He returned to the smoking compartment, where the Backslid Baptist was auditing his tips.
Lady LuckHugh Wiley
And you can hide the discrepancy on your books from the auditing committee?
The LandloperHolman Day
He was blandly present sometimes at an auditing of accounts.
At His Gates, Vol. 1(of 3)Margaret Oliphant
The Government maintained an auditing organization at each job.
America's Munitions 1917-1918Benedict Crowell
I have almost finished up this work of auditing and clearing the estate.
Bohemian DaysGeo. Alfred Townsend
audit
- an inspection, correction, and verification of business accounts, conducted by an independent qualified accountant
- (as modifier)audit report
- US an audited account
- any thoroughgoing check or examination
- archaic a hearing
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- to inspect, correct, and certify (accounts, etc)
- US and Canadian to attend (classes, etc) as an auditor
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin audītus a hearing, from audīre to hear
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
Word Origin and History for auditing
audit
n.
early 15c., from Latin auditus "a hearing," past participle of audire "hear" (see audience). Official examination of accounts, which originally was an oral procedure.
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audit
v.
mid-15c., from audit (n.). Related: Audited; auditing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
audit
The examination by an outside party of the accounts of an individual or corporation.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.