accountant

1 of 2

noun

ac·​coun·​tant ə-ˈkau̇n-tᵊnt How to pronounce accountant (audio)
1
: one that gives an account or is accountable
2
: one who is skilled in the practice of accounting or who is in charge of public or private accounts
accountantship noun

accountant

2 of 2

adjective

obsolete
: accountable, answerable
I stand accountant for as great a sinWilliam Shakespeare

Examples of accountant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Souter, a former Arthur Andersen accountant, founded Stagecoach with his sister in 1980 as Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government began to deregulate the UK’s bus industry. Ben Stupples, Fortune Europe, 21 Nov. 2023 In April 2021, for example, IRS investigators used a conference room in the California U.S. attorney’s office to interview the accountant who helped Hunter Biden prepare his taxes for some of the years in question, documents released by the House Ways and Means Committee show. Sarah Bedford, Washington Examiner, 16 Nov. 2023 Trump and his company have for more than a year blamed their former outside accountants, Mazars USA, for any inaccuracies in their statements of financial condition, essentially a snapshot of Trump's wealth. Graham Kates, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2023 Professional creators now often recruit and hire teams of specialists: managers, writers, editors, designers and camera operators to pump out content; agents, accountants, event coordinators and publicists to lock down appearances and revenue. Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2023 Benito played an older accountant at Burt's Bees, and couldn't seem to get his head in the game as the company was about to be acquired and internal shifts were imminent. Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 23 Oct. 2023 Cohen is now expected to testify next week after a medical issue delayed his testimony, so Trump will instead hear testimony from his own accountant, Donna Kidder, and real estate executives who appraised his properties. Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2023 Most of their employees work in this building, including their video editors, social media managers, chatters and advertising staff; an accountant and a few others work remotely. Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 His sons said Trump's financial statements were compiled by accountants and lawyers, and his top deputies within the Trump Organization testified that Trump was largely uninvolved in their preparation. Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'accountant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English accomptaunt, accountant "official in charge of accounts," borrowed from Anglo-French acomptant, noun derivative of accountaunt, present participle of acunter, acompter "to account entry 2"

Adjective

Middle English accomptaunt, borrowed from Anglo-French accountaunt, from present participle of acunter, acompter "to account entry 2"

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of accountant was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near accountant

Cite this Entry

“Accountant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accountant. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

accountant

noun
ac·​coun·​tant
ə-ˈkau̇nt-ᵊnt
: a person professionally trained in accounting

More from Merriam-Webster on accountant

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!