What does accrue mean?
Word: Accrue
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Accrue means to build up little by little over a period of time, as interest on savings does.
Synonyms: build up
How do you spell accrue?
Syllables: ac - crue
Tricky part: The long oo sound at the end is spelt ue, as in blue and true, not oo or ew.
Watch out for: accroo, accrew, accrou
Memory tip: Savings keep growing Until the End of the term, and U and E are the letters that close this word.
Accrue in a sentence
Example 1: Interest will accrue on the savings account until Mother closes it next year.
Example 2: Over a long career, her skills and contacts began to accrue.
Example 3: Unused leave can accrue from one year to the next in some offices.
Fun Fact
Accrue shares a Latin root with crescent, the shape of the growing moon: crescere meant to grow.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word accrue as used in the sentence:
Reward points accrue on your library card each time you return a book on time.
a) count
b) expire
c) vanish
d) accumulate
Show answer
d) accumulate. The points pile up, which is what accumulate means.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters to find the word that fits the sentence:
The benefits of regular reading cuerca slowly but surely over the school years.
a) accrue
b) acquire
c) adhere
d) accuse
Show answer
a) accrue. Accuse has an s, acquire a q and adhere a d and an h, none of which are among the letters.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Every pound you save will slowly acrue interest in the bank, so by the time you finish school the account will have grown quite nicely.
a) account
b) acrue
c) grown
d) finish
Show answer
b) acrue. The word needs a double c after the a.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. fluctuatte 2. dimminish 3. replennish 4. accrue
a) to fill up again
b) to grow steadily in amount
c) to become smaller
d) to keep rising and falling
Show answer
b) to grow steadily in amount. Diminish, replenish and fluctuate each carry a doubled letter too many here.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If fines accrue on a late library book, the amount owed ____.
a) stays the same all year
b) falls a little every week
c) is paid by the school
d) gets larger with each day
Show answer
d) gets larger with each day
2. Over time, what might accrue?
a) a flight that left on time
b) a photo taken yesterday
c) unpaid rent over many months
d) a single cup of tea
Show answer
c) unpaid rent over many months
