accrue
/əˈkruː/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈkruː/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˈkrü/ (ame, mw)
accrue — 動詞
- accruepresent simple I / you / we / they
- accrueshe / she / it
- accruedpast simple
- accruing-ing form
1. to gradually grow in number, amount, or size as time passes, often as a natural
累積；增加
隨時間自然增長
to gradually grow in number, amount, or size as time passes, often as a natural result of a process or situation.
Over the years, Mei-Lin's collection of vintage stamps accrued steadily as she visited flea markets across Europe.
多年來，Mei-Lin 蒐集的舊郵票在走訪歐洲跳蚤市場的過程中穩步增加。
accrue + steadily; time adverbial (over the years)
The benefits of regular exercise accrue slowly, so you may not notice changes in the first few weeks.
規律運動的好處是慢慢累積的，所以頭幾週可能感覺不到變化。
accrue slowly; subject = benefits
As the dry season continued, the village's water supply problems accrued, forcing families to travel further each day.
隨著乾季持續，村莊的供水問題日益嚴重，許多家庭每天必須走更遠的路去取水。
A deep sense of trust accrued between the two teams after they worked together on the hospital project.
兩組團隊一起投入醫院計畫後，彼此之間累積了深厚的信任感。
Significant experience accrues naturally when you spend years solving the same kind of engineering problem.
當你多年來解決同一類工程問題時，豐富的經驗自然會累積起來。
- accumulate
more general and can be transitive; 'accrue' suggests a natural, gradual process
- build up
more informal, used in everyday speech
- amass
implies a large total; often used with wealth or possessions
- gather
more neutral, can be intentional or natural
- dwindle
gradually decrease in amount or strength
文法句型
accrue + (to/from something)
用法筆記
Unlike 'accumulate', which can be transitive ('She accumulated wealth'), this sense of 'accrue' is always intransitive — something accrues by itself rather than being deliberately gathered.
常見錯誤
2. (of money, interest, debts, or financial obligations) to build up gradually over
累計；孳生
利息、債務等逐期增加
(of money, interest, debts, or financial obligations) to build up gradually over time and become due for payment or receipt.
Arjun checked his credit card statement and was shocked to see how much interest had accrued on the unpaid balance.
Arjun 查看信用卡帳單時，驚覺未繳餘額上已經累積了這麼多利息。
interest accrued + on [balance] — financial context
Sofia let the rent payments accrue for three months while she was waiting for her insurance claim to be approved.
Sofia 等待保險理賠核准期間，讓房租拖欠了三個月。
payments accrue — obligations collecting
Holiday pay accrues at a rate of one day for every twenty shifts worked at the factory.
工廠員工每工作二十個班次，就會累積一天的休假薪資。
If you do not pay the fine within thirty days, additional charges will accrue on top of the original amount.
如果你在三十天內沒有繳清罰款，原始金額之外還會產生額外費用。
Ingrid's pension savings accrue in a tax-free account that she set up through her employer.
Ingrid 透過雇主設立的免稅帳戶，讓退休儲蓄持續累計。
- accumulate
more general; 'accrue' is the standard term for interest and debts
- build up
informal alternative, e.g. 'the debt kept building up'
- collect
suggests intentional gathering rather than natural growth
- diminish
to become smaller or less
文法句型
accrue + (on something)
interest / debt / expenses accrue
用法筆記
Common in formal financial writing and spoken contexts about bills, loans, savings, and employee benefits. The subject is almost always a type of money-like item: interest, debt, fees, leave, dividends, or penalties.