accrued
C1Formal and professional; common in financial, legal, and business contexts.
Definition
Meaning
having been accumulated or added gradually over time, typically referring to interest, benefits, rights, or expenses.
More broadly, it can describe anything that has grown or increased incrementally, such as experience, wisdom, or problems.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Implies a passive or automatic process of growth. Often used with abstract nouns like 'interest', 'benefits', 'rights', 'leave', 'expenses'. The past participle form 'accrued' is often used adjectivally.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in core meaning. Slightly more common in American legal/financial writing.
Connotations
Neutral, technical connotation in both varieties.
Frequency
High frequency in professional contexts (finance, law, HR); low frequency in casual conversation.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Something] accrues to [someone/something][Someone] accrues [something]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “accrued to the benefit of”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Referring to interest on savings or loans, employee holiday/vacation days, or unpaid invoices.
Academic
Describing the gradual accumulation of data, evidence, or social capital.
Everyday
Rare in casual talk. Might be used for 'accrued annual leave'.
Technical
Central in accounting (accrual accounting), law (accrued rights), and finance.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Interest will accrue on the loan until it is repaid.
- Annual leave accrues at a rate of 2.5 days per month.
- Significant expertise had accrued over his long career.
American English
- Dividends accrue to shareholders of record.
- The financial benefits accrued to the parent company.
- Liabilities can accrue even without an invoice.
adjective
British English
- The accrued interest must be declared on your tax return.
- She checked her balance of accrued holiday.
- The accrued benefits under the pension scheme were substantial.
American English
- The company's accrued expenses were listed on the balance sheet.
- He had five weeks of accrued vacation time.
- Payment is made from the accrued revenue account.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Money in the bank gets accrued interest.
- You have 15 days of accrued annual leave to use this year.
- The accrued interest on my savings account is small.
- The report detailed the significant liabilities accrued by the previous administration.
- Benefits accrue to members after a qualifying period.
- Under the accrual accounting method, revenue is recognized when it is earned, not when cash is received.
- The rights accrued under the treaty cannot be unilaterally revoked.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a CRUISE ship slowly ACCRUING passengers at each port stop.
Conceptual Metaphor
GROWTH IS ACCUMULATION (like a snowball rolling and gathering more snow).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'начисленный' (which is correct for interest) and 'накопленный' (more general accumulation). 'Accrued' specifically implies a regular, often automatic, addition.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'accrued' for sudden gains ('He accrued a fortune overnight' is odd). Confusing it with 'acquired'. Spelling: 'acrrued', 'acrued'.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'accrued' LEAST likely to be used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. While most common for financial items (interest, expenses) and time (leave, entitlements), it can be used for any gradual accumulation (e.g., accrued wisdom, accrued evidence).
'Accrued' often implies a more formal, systematic, or automatic process, typically within legal, financial, or employment systems. 'Accumulated' is more general and can be used for both formal and informal contexts (e.g., accumulated clutter, accumulated knowledge).
Yes, but the subject is usually the thing increasing, not the person receiving it. Correct: 'Interest accrues daily.' Less common/formal: 'The investor accrued substantial dividends.'
It can be 'vesting' (when accrued rights become claimable), 'paying out', 'realizing', or simply 'deducting'/'spending' if referring to the reduction of an accrued balance.