accrued; accruing
1
: to come into existence as a legally enforceable claim
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
rewards due to the feminine will accrue to me—
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer3
: to accumulate or be added periodically
interest accrues on a daily basis
: to accumulate or have due after a period of time
accrue vacation time
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
Interest does not begin to accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the first loan payment.
—Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
The amount of vacation pay could be increased based on future pay raises or if the fire chief accrues more vacation time, the mayor said.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 1 Oct. 2025
Brianna Quinlan accrued 14 kills, four aces and eight digs, while Ryleigh Atkinson had five kills and three aces as Rockland (9-2) rolled to a 3-0 South Shore League win over Mashpee.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
In July, The Guardian reported that the band The Velvet Sundown released two albums and accrued over one million streams on Spotfiy before it was revealed the band and its music were AI generated.
—Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrue
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Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
The amount of vacation pay could be increased based on future pay raises or if the fire chief accrues more vacation time, the mayor said.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 1 Oct. 2025
Brianna Quinlan accrued 14 kills, four aces and eight digs, while Ryleigh Atkinson had five kills and three aces as Rockland (9-2) rolled to a 3-0 South Shore League win over Mashpee.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
In July, The Guardian reported that the band The Velvet Sundown released two albums and accrued over one million streams on Spotfiy before it was revealed the band and its music were AI generated.
—Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrue
Cite this Entry
“Accrue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrue. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
noun
-ˈkrü-əl
Legal Definition
accrue
verb
ac·crue
ə-ˈkrü
accrued; accruing
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
National Law JournalNote: 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
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
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