auditor

noun

au·​di·​tor ˈȯ-də-tər 

1

: a person authorized to examine and verify accounts

2

: one who hears or listens

especially : one who is a member of an audience

3

: a person who audits a course of study

4

: a person who hears something (such as a court case) in the capacity of judge

Did you know?

The auditing of a company's financial records by independent examiners on a regular basis is necessary to prevent "cooking the books", and thus to keep the company honest. We don't normally think of auditors as listening, since looking at and adding up numbers is their basic line of work, but auditors do have to listen to people's explanations, and perhaps that's the historical link. Hearing is more obviously part of another meaning of audit, the kind that college students do when they sit in on a class without taking exams or receiving an official grade.

Examples of auditor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Elon Musk is reportedly forcing banks, auditors, and law firms working on the upcoming SpaceX IPO to subscribe to X’s controversial in-house chatbot Grok. —Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 5 Apr. 2026

The fact that Cicero failed to cooperate with state auditors is likely to draw significant public attention given that the FBI and a federal grand jury have also demanded records about her businesses and her relationship with McCrory. —Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2026

Spilka said that both the Senate and House provide the auditor with financial information every year, and that the public can find procurements, contracts, expenditures and salaries on the state Comptroller’s website. —Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2026

The School Board also asked the district auditor to conduct a review and referred it to the county’s Office of Inspector General for possible investigation. —Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English auditour "hearer, listener, official who examines and verifies accounts," borrowed from Anglo-French auditur, auditour, borrowed from Medieval Latin audītor "hearer, hearer of pleas (in court or Parliament), official who examines accounts," going back to Latin, "hearer, listener, disciple," from audīre "to hear" + -tor, agent suffix — more at audible entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

auditor

noun

au·​di·​tor ˈȯd-ət-ər 

1

: a person who listens to or hears something or someone

especially : a member of an audience

2

: a person who audits accounts

Legal Definition

auditor

noun

au·​di·​tor ˈȯ-də-tər 

1

: a person qualified and authorized to examine and verify financial records

2

: a referee appointed by a court in a civil action

especially : one designated to prepare an account for the court see also master