accountant

1 of 2

noun

ac·​coun·​tant ə-ˈkau̇n-tᵊnt 

1

: one that gives an account or is accountable

2

: one who is skilled in the practice of accounting or who is in charge of public or private accounts

accountantship

ə-ˈkau̇n-tᵊn(t)-ˌship 

noun

accountant

2 of 2

adjective

obsolete

: subject to give account or liable to be called to account : accountable, answerable

I stand accountant for as great a sin …

—William Shakespeare

Examples of accountant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

No charges have been filed against the co-executors, Epstein's longtime lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn. — Dan Mangan,jim Forkin, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026

As complaints were rolling in about Jardon, a senior accountant at Citrus was alerted to a $30,000 purchase of Apple products through the nonprofit’s Amazon account, the warrant said. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026

If any other human impulse in a wild place must become subservient to a line in some accountant’s ledger, then the wild will always lose out. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026

Shaquille O’Neal first messaged Mac McClung a decade ago, when McClung was a seventeen-year-old living in Gate City, Virginia, scoring sixty points in a game and doing reverse-windmill dunks over future accountants and insurance adjusters. — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English accomptaunt, accountant "official in charge of accounts," borrowed from Anglo-French acomptant, noun derivative of accountaunt, present participle of acunter, acompter "to account entry 2"

Adjective

Middle English accomptaunt, borrowed from Anglo-French accountaunt, from present participle of acunter, acompter "to account entry 2"

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing accountant

• certified public accountant
• chartered accountant
• cost accountant
• turf accountant

Kids Definition

accountant

noun

ac·​coun·​tant

ə-ˈkau̇nt-ᵊnt

: a person professionally trained in accounting