auditor
Americannoun
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a person appointed and authorized to examine accounts and accounting records, compare the charges with the vouchers, verify balance sheet and income items, and state the result.
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a university student registered for a course without credit and without obligation to do work assigned to the class.
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a hearer; listener.
noun
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a person qualified to audit accounts
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a person who hears or listens
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a registered student who attends a class that is not an official part of his course of study, without actively participating it
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of auditor
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English auditour, from Anglo-French, from Latin audītor “hearer,” from audī(re) “to hear” + -tor -tor
Explanation
An auditor is someone who inspects accounting records. Don’t cheat on your taxes, or an auditor might come and check your figures. An auditor is also an attentive listener. That kind is usually more fun. The word auditor is Latin for “hearer.” This word still applies to someone who listens closely, but it also refers to a kind of accountant who checks the financial records of other people, usually to make sure nothing illegal is going on. If the Internal Revenue Service demands an audit, an auditor will go over your financial records with a fine-toothed comb. This process used to be done verbally, so both kinds of auditors need good hearing.
Vocabulary lists containing auditor
Common Senses: Aud ("Hear")
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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aud
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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.
“I’m not surprised. He’s not an auditor, he’s not a CPA. He doesn’t know the professional standard and what consists of an audit.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
But auditor general Stephen Boyle warned a lack of evaluation and public reporting meant it was difficult to know what was and what wasn't working.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
Or “You’re an auditor who has been hired to check the work of an internal data-analytics team that’s been using AI to compile customer data and sales prospects.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Former public accounts minister Amelie de Montchalin in February became the country's top auditor, after criticism she could not critique a budget that she was involved in drafting.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
Most notable was an exchange between Clark and John Dougall, a Republican and electrical engineer and businessman who would later become Utah’s state auditor.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
