: relating to or being a method of accounting that recognizes income when earned and expenses when incurred regardless of when cash is received or disbursed (see disburse sense 1a) compare cash entry 2
Examples of accrual in a Sentence
Noun
had an accrual of $100 through interest on my savings account last year
Recent Examples on the Web
Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 26 June 2025
Hamilton’s accrual of 39.7 percent of Ferrari’s points this year is down from Sainz’s contribution last year (when Sainz had 47.6 percent despite missing a race).
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Costco saw a slight margin headwind related to a one-time vacation accrual impact from a new employee agreement effective in March.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrual
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Noun
PayPal is targeting use cases involving high-volume manual work, such as invoice processing and accruals, Miller said.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 26 June 2025
Hamilton’s accrual of 39.7 percent of Ferrari’s points this year is down from Sainz’s contribution last year (when Sainz had 47.6 percent despite missing a race).
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
Here’s the latest, and what borrowers should know about student loan interest accrual during these turbulent times.
—Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Costco saw a slight margin headwind related to a one-time vacation accrual impact from a new employee agreement effective in March.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrual
Cite this Entry
“Accrual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrual. Accessed 17 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
accrual
noun
ac·cru·al
ə-ˈkrü-əl 
1
: the action or process of accruing
claim must be brought within two years of the date of accrual
2
a
: something that accrues
especially
: an amount of money that periodically accumulates for a specific purpose (as payment of taxes or interest)
b
: something that has accrued during a specified period
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