certified public accountant

noun

: an accountant who has met the requirements of a state law and has been granted a certificate

Examples of certified public accountant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
At least six members of the 11-person governing board, including the managing partner, would need to be certified public accountants to comply with regulatory requirements. — Mark Maurer, WSJ, 6 Nov. 2023 Some do not have certified public accountants on staff and rely instead on lawyers, offshore workers or software to crunch the numbers. — Alan Rappeport, New York Times, 26 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of certified public accountant was in 1896

Browse Nearby Words

certified organic
certified public accountant
certified seed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Certified public accountant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/certified%20public%20accountant. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on certified public accountant

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about certified public accountant

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
burrowing owl athene cunicularia tilts its head outside its burrow on marco island florida
Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
See All