accountant

1 of 2

noun

ac·​coun·​tant ə-ˈkau̇n-tᵊnt 

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

ə-ˈkau̇n-tᵊn(t)-ˌship 

noun

accountant

2 of 2

adjective

obsolete

: accountable, answerable

I stand accountant for as great a sin

—William Shakespeare

Examples of accountant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Khosla predicted that artificial intelligence will eventually be able to handle about 80% of today’s jobs, ranging from physicians and radiologists to accountants and sales professionals. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026

House lawmakers were digging into Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling financial portfolio on Wednesday as a committee deposed his former accountant and tried to understand his connections to some of the world’s wealthiest men. —Stephen Groves, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026

Instead, according to Anthropic’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, they’d be better served becoming electricians, registered nurses, lawyers, and accountants — the occupations expected to grow the most between 2024 and 2034. —Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 11 Mar. 2026

But for nearly a year, the Colorado accountant has been unable to fix a glaring error on her own credit report. —Joel Jacobs, CNN Money, 11 Mar. 2026

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

Phrases Containing accountant

• certified public accountant
• chartered accountant
• cost accountant
• turf accountant

Kids Definition

accountant

noun

ac·​coun·​tant

ə-ˈkau̇nt-ᵊnt

: a person professionally trained in accounting