comptroller

noun

comp·​trol·​ler kən-ˈtrō-lər 

ˈkäm(p)-ˌtrō-,

käm(p)-ˈtrō- 

1

: a royal-household official who examines and supervises expenditures

2

: a public official who audits government accounts and sometimes certifies expenditures

3

: controller sense 1c

comptrollership

kən-ˈtrō-lər-ˌship 

ˈkäm(p)-ˌtrō-

käm(p)-ˈtrō-

noun

Did you know?

If you think "comptroller" looks like a mistaken spelling of "controller," you're partially right. Today, "comptroller" is an established word that shares one of its meanings (sense 3) with "controller." The term did originate as a misspelling, however. Around the 15th century, Middle English speakers altered the spelling of "conterroller" (meaning "controller," from the Middle French contrerolleur) under the influence of the Middle French word compte ("account"). The resulting word, "comptroller," has attracted criticism over the years. Grammarian Henry Fowler condemned "comptroller" as "not merely archaic, but erroneous" in 1920, and a lexicographical column from 1931 agreed that "comptroller" is "erroneous and should not be accepted as correct." Nevertheless, such modern institutions as colleges and governments continue to have comptrollers. "Comptrollership" occasionally turns up as well.

Examples of comptroller in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The blaze broke out in January 2016, one day before a scheduled audit of village finances planned after the state comptroller fined Eddyville for not filing timely audit reports. —Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2024

The state comptroller released scathing audits in 2017, 2020 and 2023. —Jonathan Mattise, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2024

So far, the field of challengers already includes New York City comptroller Brad Lander, state senator from Brooklyn Zellnor Myrie, state senator from Queens Jessica Ramos, and former city comptroller Scott Stringer. —Chad De Guzman, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024

Amid the ongoing probe, some prominent officials had called for Adams to step down, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Scott Stringer, the former New York City comptroller, who will be running againstAdams in next year’s Democratic primary. —Tom Tapp, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, alteration of countreroller controller

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

comptroller

noun

comp·​trol·​ler kən-ˈtrō-lər  käm(p)- 

ˈkäm(p)-ˌtrō-lər

: a public official who examines financial accounts

Legal Definition

comptroller

noun

comp·​trol·​ler kən-ˈtrō-lər, ˈkämp-ˌtrō- 

: the head accounting officer of a company or government