account for

British  

verb

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

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

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

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account for Idioms  

1. 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 .

2. 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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

account for

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

The U.S. and Europe markets account for about two-thirds of the business, Xu said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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

Often he had felt torn by a tug-of-war between duty and honor—a tension, he thought, that might account for “a good portion of my psychic difficulties over the years.”

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield