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

Extracting such a weak signal required the researchers to carefully account for many different sources of interference that could distort the measurements.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

While such lets account for only about 1.2 percent of the European Union's housing stock, according to EU data, the share can be much higher in popular districts of some tourist destinations.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

That raises the possibility that environmental exposures could help explain some cases of liver disease that otherwise seem difficult to account for.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

With the Bulldogs backed up against their goal line, Patterson dialed up a nickel blitz — and Fresno State didn’t account for it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

“Pretending not to be serious when you’re called to account for your flaws, thereby trying to leave your opponent with only imaginary ground to stand on.”

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden