accrue

/əˈkɹuː/

//əˈkɹuː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"accrue" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“accrue” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,264. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,264
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To increase, to rise

Corpus desk

Index EN-accrue · accrue · English

accrue · rank #32,264 · 6 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,264
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abrasion

Nearest frequency peer: abrasion (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “accrue”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “accrue” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

accrue vs acre
67% similar
accrue vs accuse
67% similar
accrue vs accrued
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for accrue
PropertyValue
Headwordaccrue
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈkɹuː/
Letters6
Frequency rank#32,264
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “accrue”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).accruelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “abrasion” (#32,263), “Ackerman” (#32,265), “Aberdeenshire” (#32,262). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “accrue” is #32,264. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around accrue (IPA /əˈkɹuː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #32,264 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for accrue, with forms such as "accreu", "accrrue", and "accure". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "acre", "accuse", "accrued", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in mid 15th century. From Middle English acrewen, borrowed from Old French acreüe, past participle of accreistre (“to increase”), from Latin accrēsco (“increase”), from ad (“in addition”) + crēscō (“to grow”). The correct English form is accrue, spelled A-C-C-R-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To increase, to rise
  2. 2
    To reach or come to by way of increase; to arise or spring up because of growth or result, especially as the produce of money lent.
  3. 3
    To be incurred as a result of the passage of time.
  4. 4
    To accumulate.
  5. 5
    To become an enforceable and permanent right.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how accrue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And though pow’r fail’d, her Courage did accrue
  2. Environmental benefits that accrue to the area.

Etymology

First attested in mid 15th century. From Middle English acrewen, borrowed from Old French acreüe, past participle of accreistre (“to increase”), from Latin accrēsco (“increase”), from ad (“in addition”) + crēscō (“to grow”).

Synonyms

riseaccreteincreaseadd upaccumulate

Antonyms

amortizedeferprepay

This word in other languages

acrecentarse(Español)accroître(Français)anfallen(Deutsch)acrescer(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • accreu
  • accrrue
  • accure
  • acrcue
  • acrue
  • cacrue

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of accrue - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

accreu2accrrue1accure2acrcue2acrue1cacrue2
Edit distance from "accrue"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "accrue"?
"accrue" is spelled A-C-C-R-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈkɹuː/.
What does "accrue" mean?
As a verb, "accrue" means: To increase, to rise
What words are commonly confused with "accrue"?
"accrue" is commonly confused with "acre", "accuse", "accrued". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "accrue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "accrue" is /əˈkɹuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "accrue"?
First attested in mid 15th century. From Middle English acrewen, borrowed from Old French acreüe, past participle of accreistre (“to increase”), from Latin accrēsco (“increase”), from ad (“in addition”) + crēscō (“to grow”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "accrue", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

acumen#32,266Alford#32,268allele#32,269Yunnan#32,257

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

ziggy6 variantsCarta6 variantscomte6 variantsdist6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list