Accounting and Finance Dictionaries Key Terms

Look up the right vocabulary to understand accounting and finance dictionaries

By Lisa Maloney

It might seem reasonable to assume that all accounting and finance dictionaries are the same, but in fact there are a number of different focuses available. Understanding the major differences between the most common dictionaries and types of dictionaries will help you to sort through the mass and find those that are most useful to you. Learning the sort of nuanced information that these specialized dictionaries offer will benefit your business. Use these key titles and terms to get you started.

Traders' glossary

While many online accounting and finance dictionaries focus on general accounting and finance terms, there are a few that focus on very specific sectors of the accounting and finance fields. A traders' glossary provides helpful vocabulary for stocks and commodities industries.
Try: The Technical Analysis Traders' Glossary is the ultimate online reference for stock trading vocabulary.

Financial dictionary

The best online financial dictionaries provide key terms in finance, money, and investing, and are subdivided into categories so that you can sort through terms not just alphabetically, but by context as well.
Try: The Financial Dictionary is sub-divided into categories for easy cross-referencing.

Accounting for non-accountants

Some industry-specific dictionaries fail to define the most basic of terms because it's assumed that one is already familiar with them. The answer to these oversights is a layperson's accounting and finance dictionary that covers even the most basic of terms.
Try: The Real Life Online Seminars "Real Life Accounting for Non-Accountants" dictionary takes a relatively non-technical approach to defining industry-specific terms and covers all the basic bases you may need to get up to speed.

Commerce

Sometimes a word can have a specific connotation within a certain industry context, like financing or accounting, that sets it apart from the same term in a more general context. Commerce, for example, is the driving force that makes the accounting and finance worlds move, but it uses some common words and phrases such as "Access URL" or "Loading" in industry-specific ways.
Try: The Electronic Commerce Dictionary defines terms within the specific context of commerce and trading.

Investing

There's a lot of crossover between terms and concepts in the accounting and financing world. Sometimes you also need to know terms from closely related industries like stock trading and investing.
Try: InvestorWords details the terms that cross over between the financial, trading and investing worlds.