accrued; accruing
1
: to come into existence as a legally enforceable claim
2
a
: to come about as a natural growth, increase, or advantage
the wisdom that accrues with age
b
: to come as a direct result of some state or action
rewards due to the feminine will accrue to me—
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer3
: to accumulate or be added periodically
interest accrues on a daily basis
: to accumulate or have due after a period of time
accrue vacation time
Examples of accrue in a Sentence
I'll get back all the money I invested, plus any interest and dividends that have accrued.
investments that have accrued interest and dividends
Recent Examples on the Web
Running Point’s first four days of release accrued 9.3 million views worldwide, according to Netflix’s internal data, ranking third on the streamer’s top 10 English-language series charts for last week.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2025
Some videos have accrued hundreds of thousands of views.
—Nicole Nixon and, Sacramento Bee, 4 Mar. 2025
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images News | Getty Images
However, with an extension, the largest tax cuts would accrue to the highest-income families, the Treasury said.
—Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Outside of his newest pieces from the Scotch & Soda collection, Jonas has accrued a big wardrobe full of vintage items like jackets and button-down shirts.
—Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrue
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Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2025
Some videos have accrued hundreds of thousands of views.
—Nicole Nixon and, Sacramento Bee, 4 Mar. 2025
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images News | Getty Images
However, with an extension, the largest tax cuts would accrue to the highest-income families, the Treasury said.
—Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Outside of his newest pieces from the Scotch & Soda collection, Jonas has accrued a big wardrobe full of vintage items like jackets and button-down shirts.
—Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accrue
Cite this Entry
“Accrue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrue. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
accrue
verb
ac·crue
ə-ˈkrü 
accrued; accruing
1
: to come about as a natural growth or addition
benefits accrue to society from education
2
: to accumulate over a period of time
accrued interest
accrual
noun
-ˈkrü-əl
Legal Definition
accrue
verb
ac·crue
ə-ˈkrü
accrued; accruing
1
: to come into existence as an enforceable claim : vest as a right
action…does not accrue until the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known that he may have suffered injury—National Law Journal
National Law JournalNote: Statutes of limitations begin to run when a cause of action accrues.
2
: to come by way of increase or addition : arise as a growth or result
—usually used with to or from
advantages accruing to society from the freedom of the press
interest accrues to the seller as a result of the delay
3
: to be periodically accumulated in the process of time whether as an increase or a decrease
the accruing of taxes
allowing the receivable interest to accrue
1
: to accumulate or have due after a period of time
authorized by law to accrue leave in the maximum amount of 90 days
2
: to enter in the books as an accrual
Etymology
Middle French accreue increase, addition to a property, from feminine of accreu, past participle of acreistre to increase
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