Accretion vs. Accrual — What's the Difference?

Growth or increase in size by gradual external addition, fusion, or inclusion.

Accrual (accumulation) of something is, in finance, the adding together of interest or different investments over a period of time. It holds specific meanings in accounting, where it can refer to accounts on a balance sheet that represent liabilities and non-cash-based assets used in accrual-based accounting.

Something contributing to such growth or increase

The act or process of accumulating; an increase.

(Biology) The growing together or adherence of parts that are normally separate.

Something that accumulates or increases.

Slow addition to land by deposition of water-borne sediment.

An increase; something that accumulates, especially an amount of money that periodically accumulates for a specific purpose

An increase of land along the shores of a body of water, as by alluvial deposit.

(accounting) from the creditor's viewpoint, a charge incurred in one accounting period that has not been, but is to be, paid by the end of it.

(Astronomy) An increase in the mass of a celestial object by its gravitational capture of surrounding interstellar material.

Accrument.

The act of increasing by natural growth; especially the increase of organic bodies by the internal accession of parts; organic growth.

The act of accumulating

The act of increasing, or the matter added, by an accession of parts externally; an extraneous addition.

Something added externally to promote the external growth of an item.

Concretion; coherence of separate particles.

(biology) A growing together of parts naturally separate, as of the fingers or toes.

(geology) The gradual increase of land by deposition of water-borne sediment.

(legal) The adhering of property to something else, by which the owner of one thing becomes possessed of a right to another; generally, gain of land by the washing up of sand or sail from the sea or a river, or by a gradual recession of the water from the usual watermark.

(legal) Gain to an heir or legatee; failure of a coheir to the same succession, or a co-legatee of the same thing, to take his share percentage.

(astrophysics) The formation of planets and other bodies by collection of material through gravity.

The act of increasing by natural growth; esp. the increase of organic bodies by the internal accession of parts; organic growth.

The act of increasing, or the matter added, by an accession of parts externally; an extraneous addition; as, an accretion of earth.

Concretion; coherence of separate particles; as, the accretion of particles so as to form a solid mass.

A growing together of parts naturally separate, as of the fingers or toes.

The adhering of property to something else, by which the owner of one thing becomes possessed of a right to another; generally, gain of land by the washing up of sand or soil from the sea or a river, or by a gradual recession of the water from the usual watermark.

An increase by natural growth or addition

Something contributing to growth or increase;

(astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases

(biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles

(geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or water-borne sediment

(law) an increase in a beneficiary's share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance)