accountant

1 of 2

noun

ac·​coun·​tant ə-ˈkau̇n-tᵊnt How to pronounce accountant (audio)
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 noun

accountant

2 of 2

adjective

obsolete
: accountable, answerable
I stand accountant for as great a sinWilliam Shakespeare

Examples of accountant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Hollywood leading men and neighborhood baristas, wedding planners and basketball players, morning-show hosts and accountants, youth pastors and construction workers, your nephew and your aunt. Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 How does the salary potential compare between CPAs and non-CPA accountants? Bryce Welker, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024 This could come down to simple cost-benefit analyses: Aspiring accountants essentially need five years of college to earn a Certified Public Accountant license. Jo Constantz, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 And so there are many situations where large corporations may be well advised by lawyers and accountants to take aggressive positions, figuring that the IRS will only find a subset of them. Robert Goulder, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Now even accountants and tax nerds barely understand it. John Stossel, Orange County Register, 28 Feb. 2024 Aron, a 26-year-old accountant, knocked out a lot of the high value cases right at the top of the game and turned down multiple offers from the Banker, including the final one. Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024 There were also cabdrivers and restaurant managers, an accountant, and an electrician. Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 The ex-president and his co-defendants strongly opposed any wrongdoing, claiming their valuations were subjective numbers based on Trump’s real estate expertise and casting blame for any issues with the statements’ numbers onto the accountants who prepared the documents. Alison Durkee, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'accountant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of accountant was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near accountant

Cite this Entry

“Accountant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accountant. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

accountant

noun
ac·​coun·​tant
ə-ˈkau̇nt-ᵊnt
: a person professionally trained in accounting

More from Merriam-Webster on accountant

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