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

Since launching in 2012, Candy Crush Saga has remained one of the most popular games on mobile devices, accruing millions of daily players. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2025

And none of that touches the benefits that could accrue to other people outfitted with BCI chips, who could then communicate and interact with AI systems. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Nov. 2025

Magnolia Pearl, a quiet outlier in this global churn, has built a devoted following on the opposite premise—that beauty deepens with age, and value accrues through wear. —Maria Williams, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025

The British Academy has over 200,000 subscribers on YouTube and in 2025 alone has accrued over 350 million views across their socials. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 4 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