accrue
verb
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Definition of accrue
1 : to come into existence as a legally enforceable claim
2a : 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
3 : 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
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Other Words from accrue
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adjective
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noun
Examples of accrue in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The diverse portfolio accrued by the group has included vineyards in California, dairy farms in New Zealand and operations producing cotton, soybeans and sugar cane in countries including Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Russia and Ukraine. — Caleb Parke, Fox News, "Harvard's billion-dollar global farmland investments under fire from activists," 12 Sep. 2018 The benefits accrued to American companies and consumers (though some of the workers who voted for Mr Trump lost out). — The Economist, "Donald Trump insists on trade reciprocity. But what kind?," 12 July 2018 According to the terms of the extension, Keller can accrue up to 25 vacation days a year, 12 sick days a year and up to four personal days a year. — Phil Rockrohr, chicagotribune.com, "Lake Zurich village manager receives extension, including 12-percent salary increase," 3 July 2018 Currently, state employees can accrue up to 120 hours of sick time a year, or 15 days, and cash out 20 percent of that unused time upon retirement. — BostonGlobe.com, "Should Massachusetts cap sick time for state workers?," 29 June 2018 Unpaid taxes accrue interest and penalties if not paid by Dec. 31. — David Anderson, The Aegis, "Harford County recoups more than $828,000 in annual tax lien sale," 19 June 2018 The New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew continued to stockpile points while proving doubters wrong, while eye-opening equalizers and points accrued by shorthanded teams were scattered across the six-game Saturday slate. — Avi Creditor, SI.com, "The MLS XI, Week 4: Another Red Bulls Stampede, LA Braces for Zlatan," 26 Mar. 2018 Subject to some restrictions and exceptions, prior law stated that interest paid or accrued by a business generally is fully deductible. — Tom Cooney And Crystal Faulkner, Cincinnati.com, "Additional tax breaks and updates for businesses under tax reform," 18 Jan. 2018 Specific government policies have driven the racial gap by making it specifically harder for minorities to accrue wealth. — Sarah Kliff, Vox, "An exclusive look at Cory Booker’s plan to fight wealth inequality: give poor kids money," 22 Oct. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accrue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for accrue
accrue
verbFinancial Definition of accrue
What It Is
To accrue is to record revenue and expenses in the periods in which they are incurred. Accruals, the result of accruing, are key components of the accrual method of accounting.
How It Works
Company XYZ must insure one of its buildings. The insurance company bills Company XYZ $600 every six months (one bill in January, the next in July). If each bill is for six months' coverage, then under the accrual method, Company XYZ would not record a $600 expense in January and a $600 expense in July (doing so would mean Company XYZ was using the cash method); it would instead record a $100 expense each month for the whole year. That is, Company would match the expense to the periods in which it is incurred: $100 for January, $100 for February, $100 for March, and so on.
As you can see, accruing recognizes economic events in certain periods regardless of when actual cash transactions occur.
Why It Matters
Although it is more complex, harder to implement and harder to maintain than the cash method of accounting, most analysts agree that accruing provides a more accurate picture of a company's performance. That's because in any given accounting period, revenues are associated with their corresponding expenses, which gives a truer picture of the real costs of producing the revenue in a given period.
Additionally, accruing allows companies to reflect the fact that sales may have been made and expenses incurred even if cash has not changed hands yet (as is often the case with sales made on credit and similar circumstances). This in turn produces financial statements that are comparable over time.
However, one of the big drawbacks of accruing is that it tends to obscure the nature of the company's actual cash position (e.g., a company may show millions in sales but only have $10 in its cash account because its customers haven't paid yet).
Source: Investing Answers
accrue
verb
English Language Learners Definition of accrue
: to increase in value or amount gradually as time passes : to grow or build up slowly
: to come to or be given to someone
See the full definition for accrue in the English Language Learners Dictionary
accrue
verb
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Legal Definition of accrue
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
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
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