3 syllables: ac, cru, ing. Stress on cru.
uh-KROO-ing
/əˈkɹuɪŋ/
accruing is pronounced uh-KROO-ing (/əˈkɹuɪŋ/). It has three syllables (ac-cru-ing), with the stress on "cru". Accruing means gradually increasing or accumulating, typically through ongoing additions or gains over time. It is often used to describe money, interest, or benefits that accumulate cumulatively, rather than being received all at once. The term implies a steady, continuous buildup rather than a sudden total.
Accruing means gradually increasing or accumulating, typically through ongoing additions or gains over time. It is often used to describe money, interest, or benefits that accumulate cumulatively, rather than being received all at once. The term implies a steady, continuous buildup rather than a sudden total.
"The interest is accruing daily, so your balance will grow each week."
"Over the years, small losses accrued into a significant debt."
"Benefits accrue to employees as they stay with the company longer."
Accent starts with a schwa + /ˈkruː-ɪŋ/; you stress the second syllable: /əˈkruːɪŋ/. The first syllable is unstressed, sounding like a quick, relaxed /ə/. Then /ˈkruː-/ provides a long 'oo' vowel as in 'cool', followed by /ɪŋ/ with a crisp 'ing'. Tip: keep the /r/ soft, blend /kruː/ smoothly, and finish with a light /ŋ/ without a separate vowel. IPA: US/UK/AU: /əˈkruːɪŋ/.
Common errors: over-stressing the first syllable so it sounds like /ˈeɪ-/ or mispronouncing /ruː/ as /ru/ without the long vowel. Some speakers reduce /ɪŋ/ to a weak schwa-only ending. A corrective tip: keep the /ruː/ as a clear, long vowel, and ensure the /ɪŋ/ is a light, clipped nasal. Practice saying /əˈkruːɪŋ/ slowly, then speed up while maintaining the long /uː/ and final /ŋ/.
In US and UK, the primary stress remains on the second syllable: /əˈkruːɪŋ/. Rhotic US might realize /r/ more clearly before a vowel, but in accrual contexts you often hear a reduced /ə/ initial. Australians typically preserve the /ɜː/ or /ə/ in the first syllable depending on speaker, but the /kruː/ remains long. The ending /ɪŋ/ stays consistently nasalized across accents. Overall, vowel length of /uː/ is the key difference; the following /ɪŋ/ is uniform.
The difficulty lies in the transition from /ə/ to the long /uː/ and then blending into /ɪŋ/. Many learners misplace the stress or shorten /uː/ into /u/; some insert a full vowel before /ŋ/. Focus on keeping /ə/ light, then an accurate, full /ˈkruː/ with a rounded lip shape, before a delicate /ɪŋ/. Practicing the three-phases: unstressed schwa, long /uː/, final /ɪŋ/ helps. IPA: /əˈkruːɪŋ/.
The word’s core challenge is the smooth link from /k/ to /r/ into a long /uː/ followed by a clipped /ɪŋ/. Unlike double-consonant endings, accrual-like endings require precise timing: don’t let /ruː/ collapse into /ru/ and avoid adding a vowel between /uː/ and /ɪŋ/. The result should be /əˈkruːɪŋ/, with a crisp /ŋ/ at the end.
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US: rhotic /r/ often pronounced clearly; ensure /r/ after /k/ is lightly tapped or approximated, not a strong trill. UK: non-rhotic or weaker rhotic; still keep /r/ silent before consonants but present in phonotactics; maintain the long /uː/. AU: similar to US but with slightly broader vowels; maintain /ə/ before consonant clusters and keep /uː/ full. IPA references: /əˈkruːɪŋ/ in all variants, with subtle /ɹ/ presence in US.
Accruing comes from the verb accrue, which traces to Old French acroire “to increase, to believe,” from Late Latin accrōcre, later Latin accrēscere “to grow, increase.” The base roots are Latin ad- “toward” plus crescere “to grow,” signaling growth or addition. In English, accrue appeared in the sense of 'to come to one as a right or income' by the 15th century, evolving to financial and accrual contexts in law and accounting. By the 16th–18th centuries, accruing described gradual accumulation of rights, profits, charges, or benefits. The modern accounting sense—income or interest accruing over time—is well established by the 19th century. The word retains its core sense of steady, progressive increase, though usage has broadened beyond finance to describe any cumulatively accumulating effect.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "accruing" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "accruing"
-ing sounds
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