accredit

American

[uh-kred-it] / əˈkrɛd ɪt /

verb (used with object)

to provide or send with credentials; designate officially.

to accredit an envoy.
to certify (a school, college, or the like) as meeting all formal official requirements of academic excellence, curriculum, facilities, etc.
to make authoritative, creditable, or reputable; sanction.
to regard as true; believe.
to ascribe or attribute to (usually followed bywith ).

He was accredited with having said it.
to attribute or ascribe; consider as belonging.

an invention accredited to Edison.

accredit British

/ əˈkrɛdɪt /

verb

to ascribe or attribute
to give official recognition to; sanction; authorize
to certify or guarantee as meeting required standards
1. to furnish or send (an envoy, etc) with official credentials
2. to appoint (someone) as an envoy, etc
to pass (a candidate) for university entrance on school recommendation without external examination

there are six accrediting schools in the area

"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

Other Word Forms

accreditable adjective
accreditation noun
preaccredit verb (used with object)
reaccredit verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of accredit

First recorded in 1610–20; earlier acredit, from Middle French acrediter; ac-, credit

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.

Last year, Florida and five other states established the Commission for Public Higher Education to accredit their public university systems.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

Vienna has so far refused to accredit Taliban-appointed diplomats, although the Austrian government has held direct talks with Taliban authorities over deportations this year.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

But scores more accredit Piker for either their radicalization or their de-radicalization.

From Slate • Feb. 18, 2025

The exams regulator Ofqual will review and accredit the syllabus before it can be taught in schools and colleges.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2023

In the chapter upon pot-herbs are some of those allusions to the climate of Constantinople which may have served to accredit the work in the Byzantine court.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 68, June, 1863 by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023