account for
Britishverb
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to give reasons for (an event, act, etc)
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to make or provide a reckoning of (expenditure, payments, etc)
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to be responsible for destroying, killing, or putting (people, aircraft, etc) out of action
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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 .
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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]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The cuts account for about 30% of the company’s workers unionized with The NewsGuild-CWA, a North American labor union of journalists and communications workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Things like live programming, which don’t account for a lot of viewers, still bring in ad revenue and signups, they said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
About 4% of its shoppers account for almost half its sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Studies have previously cast doubt on the validity of global centenarian numbers, suggesting data errors, unreliable public records and missing birth certificates may account for elevated figures.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Whatever it is, it seems to be driving an expansion that no one can altogether account for.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
