🇺🇸
/əˈkruː/
🇺🇸
/əˈkruː/
🇬🇧
/əˈkruː/
🇬🇧
/əˈkruː/
Past Tense
accrued
Past Participle
accrued
Gerund
accruing
3rd Person
accrues
Accrue means to gradually increase or gather over time — especially something intangible like interest, rights, or responsibilities — as if it's naturally growing on its own. Think of unpaid interest quietly piling up on a loan, or vacation days automatically adding up each month you work.
Interest on the savings account accrues daily and is added to the balance monthly.
Employees accrue two weeks of paid vacation time for every year they work.
Liabilities such as unpaid taxes can accrue penalties and interest if left unaddressed.
Goodwill doesn't accrue overnight; it builds slowly through consistent trust and reliability.
Unpaid sick leave does not accrue during unpaid leave of absence.
cresc
Comes from the Latin verb 'crescere' (present infinitive), meaning 'to grow', 'to increase', or 'to arise'. This root conveys gradual, often organic or cumulative growth — especially in abstract contexts like value, interest, or obligations. Examples include accrue, crescendo, decrease, increase, and concise (via 'cinctus', past participle of 'cingere', but historically linked through shared Indo-European root *ker- 'to grow'). Core meaning: 'to grow or accumulate over time'.
ad
Comes from the Latin prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to', 'toward', or 'in addition'. In 'accrue', it combines with 'crescere' to form 'accrescere' (later 'accrescere' → Anglo-Norman 'acreuwen' → Middle English 'acruen'), literally 'to grow to' or 'to grow toward (a state or amount)'. Examples include add, advance, adopt, and adhere.