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

Raymond wrote that the school took the audit seriously, made the reforms and submitted evidence to the state auditor. — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 19 Aug. 2026

Fom 2017 to 2023, data center employment increased by more than 50%, PwC, a national auditor, reported for the Data Center Coalition. — Greta Cross, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026

An auditor asking which model the company uses is asking the wrong question. — Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Proposition 41 would require the state auditor to review any special tax proposal before it is presented to voters, while Proposition 42 would ban new taxes based on mere ownership of assets like property, which are usually only taxed when sold. — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 18 Aug. 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