account

[ uh-kount ]

/ əˈkaʊnt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR account ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an oral or written description of particular events or situations; narrative: an account of the meetings; an account of the trip.

an explanatory statement of conduct, as to a superior.

a statement of reasons, causes, etc., explaining some event.

reason; basis: On this account I'm refusing your offer.

importance; worth; value; consequence: things of no account.

estimation; judgment: In his account it was an excellent piece of work.

an amount of money deposited with a bank, as in a checking or savings account: My account is now with Third National.

Also called charge account. an accommodation or service extended by a business to a customer or client permitting the charging of goods or services, the returning for credit of unsatisfactory merchandise, etc.: Do you have an account at this store? My account with the restaurant is past due.

a statement of financial transactions.

Bookkeeping.

a formal record of the debits and credits relating to the person, business, etc., named at the head of the ledger account.
a balance of a specified period's receipts and expenditures.

Commerce.

a business relation in which credit is used.
any customer or client, especially one carried on a regular credit basis.
Also called advertising account. the business assigned to an advertising agency by a client: The toothpaste account was awarded to a new agency last year.

verb (used without object)

to give an explanation (usually followed by for): to account for the accident.

to answer concerning one's conduct, duties, etc. (usually followed by for): to account for the missing typewriters.

to provide a report on money received, kept, and spent.

to cause (usually followed by for): The humidity accounts for our discomfort. His reckless driving accounted for the accident.

verb (used with object)

to regard; consider as: I account myself well paid.

to assign or impute (usually followed by to): the many virtues accounted to him.

Idioms for account

call to account,

to hold accountable; blame; reprimand: Call them to account for having endangered their lives.
ask for an explanation of.

give a good/bad account of, to do something or conduct oneself in a good (bad, etc.) manner: She gave a good account of herself in the tennis tournament.

hold to account, to hold responsible; hold accountable or culpable: If any of the silver is missing, I'm going to hold you to account.

on account, as an installment or a partial payment: I can't pay the balance, but here's $10 on account.

on account of,

by reason of; because of.
for the sake of: She saw it through on account of me.

on all accounts, in any case; under any circumstances. Also at all accounts.

on no account, under no circumstances; absolutely not: On no account should you buy that painting without having it appraised.

take account of,

to make allowance for; consider: One must take account of the difficult circumstances. Taking account of the high overhead, the price is not excessive.
to notice or observe.

Also take into account.

turn to account, to derive profit or use from; turn to advantage: She has turned her misfortunes to account.

Origin of account

1225–75; (noun) Middle English a(c)ount(e), ac(c)ompte < Anglo-French, Old French aco(u)nte, acompte; (v.) Middle English ac(co)unten < Old French acunter, acompter. See ac-, count¹

SYNONYMS FOR account

1 report, chronicle.

2 justification.

5 import, significance.

6 consideration.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR account ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for account

1. See narrative.

OTHER WORDS FROM account

pre·ac·count, verb sub·ac·count, noun un·ac·count·ed, adjective

Words nearby account

accosted, accouchement, accoucheur, accoucheur's hand, accoucheuse, account, account book, account current, account day, account executive, account for

British Dictionary definitions for account for (1 of 2)

account for

verb (intr, preposition)

to give reasons for (an event, act, etc)

to make or provide a reckoning of (expenditure, payments, etc)

to be responsible for destroying, killing, or putting (people, aircraft, etc) out of action

British Dictionary definitions for account for (2 of 2)

account

/ (əˈkaʊnt) /

noun

a verbal or written report, description, or narration of some occurrence, event, etc

an explanation of conduct, esp one made to someone in authority

ground; basis; consideration (often in the phrases on this (that, every, no, etc) account, on account of)

importance, consequence, or value of little account

assessment; judgment

profit or advantage to turn an idea to account

part or behalf (only in the phrase on one's or someone's account)

finance

a business relationship between a bank, department store, stockbroker, etc, and a depositor, customer, or client permitting the latter certain banking or credit services
the sum of money deposited at a bank
the amount of credit available to the holder of an account
a record of these

a statement of monetary transactions with the resulting balance

(on the London Stock Exchange) the period, ordinarily of a fortnight's duration, in which transactions formerly took place and at the end of which settlements were made

accounting a chronological list of debits and credits relating to a specified asset, liability, expense, or income of a business and forming part of the ledger

a regular client or customer, esp a firm that purchases commodities on credit
an area of business assigned to anotherthey transferred their publicity account to a new agent

call to account or bring to account

to insist on explanation
to rebuke; reprimand
to hold responsible

give a bad account of oneself to perform badly he gave a bad account of himself in the examination

give a good account of oneself to perform well

on account

on credit
Also: to account as partial payment

on account of (preposition) because of; by reason of

take account of or take into account to take into consideration; allow for

settle accounts with or square accounts with

to pay or receive a balance due
to get revenge on (someone)

See bank account, credit account

verb

(tr) to consider or reckon he accounts himself poor

Word Origin for account

C13: from Old French acont, from conter, compter to count 1

Idioms and Phrases with account for (1 of 2)

account for

Be the determining factor in; cause. For example, The heat wave accounts for all this food spoilage, or Icy roads account for the increase in accidents.

Explain or justify, as in Jane was upset because her son couldn't account for the three hours between his last class and his arrival at home. Both of these related usages are derived from the literal meaning of the phrase, that is, “make a reckoning of an account.” [Second half of 1700s]

Idioms and Phrases with account for (2 of 2)

account

In addition to the idiom beginning with account

account for

also see:

all present and accounted for
by all accounts
call to account
give a good account
no accounting for tastes
on account of
on no account
on one's own account
take account of
take into account
turn to good account

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

account

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Idioms for account

Origin of account

SYNONYMS FOR account

synonym study for account

OTHER WORDS FROM account

Words nearby account

British Dictionary definitions for account for (1 of 2)

verb (intr, preposition)

British Dictionary definitions for account for (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for account

Idioms and Phrases with account for (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with account for (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

account

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Idioms for account

Origin of account

SYNONYMS FOR account

synonym study for account

OTHER WORDS FROM account

Words nearby account

Words related to account for

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for account for (1 of 2)

verb (intr, preposition)

British Dictionary definitions for account for (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for account

Idioms and Phrases with account for (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with account for (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for account for (1 of 2)