comptroller

noun

comp·trol·ler kən-ˈtrō-lər

ˈkäm(p)-ˌtrō-,

käm(p)-ˈtrō-

: a royal-household official who examines and supervises expenditures

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

: 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 recommendations include regular order for the budget and appropriations process, having the comptroller general issue an annual report on the fiscal state of the nation, and having the president submit a midyear report on the nation's budget. —

Reese Gorman, Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2023 More than 600 protest claims and lawsuits have been brought against New York City, and roughly half have resulted in settlements and resolutions that cost the city nearly $12 million, according to the office of the city's comptroller. —

USA TODAY, 20 July 2023 Enter Email Sign Up The funds are long-term shareholders of Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, a spokesperson for the comptroller said. —

Katie Robertson, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023 This year, the Texas comptroller has estimated that shoppers will save $136 million in state and local taxes that amount to 8.25% in most places. —

Maria Halkias, Dallas News, 8 Aug. 2023 Machado’s ban was made public in late June, when congressman José Brito, a former opposition ally, consulted the comptroller general about her status. —

Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 21 July 2023 In 2019, Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller at the time, charged that the National Tennis Center had underreported $31 million in revenue from 2014 to 2017 and therefore had underpaid rent by more than $300,000. —

David Waldstein Gabriela Bhaskar, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2023 Ludwig, the former comptroller, said the Fed has relied too long on inflation data such as the consumer price index to assess the impact of the nation's economy accurately. —

USA TODAY, 28 June 2023 The comptroller’s office is the state’s chief tax collector, accountant, revenue estimator and treasurer. —

Talia Richman, Dallas News, 23 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comptroller.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.