accrue

verb

ac·​crue ə-ˈkrü 

accrued; accruing

intransitive verb

1

: to accumulate or be added periodically

interest accrues on a daily basis.

2

a

: to come about as a natural growth, increase, or advantage

the wisdom that accrues with age

b

: to come as a direct result of some state or action

… a huge competitive advantage would accrue to large firms with ample budgets for lawyers …

—Jennifer Rubin

3

: to come into existence as a legally enforceable claim

… action … does not accrue until the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known that he may have suffered injury …

—National Law Journal

transitive verb

: to accumulate or have due after a period of time

accrue vacation time

accruable

ə-ˈkrü-ə-bəl 

adjective

accruement

ə-ˈkrü-mənt 

noun

Examples of accrue in a Sentence

I'll get back all the money I invested, plus any interest and dividends that have accrued.

investments that have accrued interest and dividends

Recent Examples on the Web

The first of Chu’s Wicked films debuted to critical acclaim and swiftly accrued more than $750 million at the global box office. —James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 13 Nov. 2025

Inspection records show the nursing homes continued to accrue health and safety violations this year under the former operator, Bedrock Healthcare. —Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 12 Nov. 2025

The feeling those two summoned in back-to-back Bulls losses were a product of battle scars accrued through years of learning to seize games. —Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

By the time the '70s rolled around, Harford had accrued dozens of TV credits and soon landed her first regular television role on the CBS drama (based on a book and film of the same name), The Paper Chase. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English acrewen, acruwen, probably borrowed from Anglo-French *acreue "increase," noun derivative from feminine of acreu, past participle of acreistre "to increase, grow," going back to Latin accrēscere, from ad- ad- + crēscere "to grow" — more at crescent entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for accrue

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

accrue

verb

ac·​crue ə-ˈkrü 

accrued; accruing

1

: to come about as a natural growth or addition

benefits accrue to society from education

2

: to accumulate over a period of time

accrued interest

accrual

-ˈkrü-əl

noun

Legal Definition

accrue

verb

ac·​crue ə-ˈkrü 

accrued; accruing

intransitive verb

1

: to come into existence as an enforceable claim : vest as a right

action…does not accrue until the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known that he may have suffered injury

—National Law Journal

Note: Statutes of limitations begin to run when a cause of action accrues.

2

: to come by way of increase or addition : arise as a growth or result

—usually used with to or from

advantages accruing to society from the freedom of the press

interest accrues to the seller as a result of the delay

3

: to be periodically accumulated in the process of time whether as an increase or a decrease

the accruing of taxes

allowing the receivable interest to accrue

transitive verb

1

: to accumulate or have due after a period of time

authorized by law to accrue leave in the maximum amount of 90 days

2

: to enter in the books as an accrual

Etymology

Middle French accreue increase, addition to a property, from feminine of accreu, past participle of acreistre to increase