account

American  

[uh-kount] / əˈkaʊnt /

noun

• accounts
  plural

1. an oral or written description of particular events or situations; narrative.

   an account of the meetings;

   an account of the trip.

   Synonyms:

   chronicle, report

2. an explanatory statement of conduct, as to a superior.

   Synonyms:

   justification

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

4. reason; basis.

   On this account I'm refusing your offer.

5. importance; worth; value; consequence.

   things of no account.

   Synonyms:

   significance, import

6. estimation; judgment.

   In his account it was an excellent piece of work.

   Synonyms:

   consideration

7. an amount of money deposited with a bank, as in a checking or savings account.

   My account is now with Third National.

8. 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.

9. a statement of financial transactions.

10. Bookkeeping.

    1. a formal record of the debits and credits relating to the person, business, etc., named at the head of the ledger account.

    2. a balance of a specified period's receipts and expenditures.

11. Commerce.

    1. a business relation in which credit is used.

    2. any customer or client, especially one carried on a regular credit basis.

    3. 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.

12. Digital Technology. an electronic identity, as a username and its associated data, assigned to an individual or group for secure, personalized access to a website, network, digital service, etc.: Your email account has been hacked!

    I don’t access my work account from my home computer.

    Your email account has been hacked!

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verb (used without object)

• accounts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accounted,
  past participle,  past
• accounting
  present participle

1. to give an explanation (usually followed byfor ).

   to account for the accident.

2. to answer concerning one's conduct, duties, etc. (usually followed byfor ).

   to account for the missing documents.

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

4. to cause (usually followed byfor ).

   The humidity accounts for our discomfort.

   His reckless driving accounted for the accident.

verb (used with object)

• accounts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accounted,
  past participle,  past
• accounting
  present participle

1. to regard; consider as.

   I account myself well paid.

2. to assign or impute (usually followed byto ).

   the many virtues accounted to him.

idioms

1. on no account, under no circumstances; absolutely not.

   On no account should you buy that painting without having it appraised.

2. 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.

3. take account of, Also take into account.

   1. to make allowance for; consider.

      One must take account of the difficult circumstances. Taking account of the high overhead, the price is not excessive.

   2. to notice or observe.

4. on account, as an installment or a partial payment.

   I can't pay the balance, but here's $10 on account.

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

6. 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.

7. on account of,

   1. by reason of; because of.

   2. for the sake of.

      She saw it through on account of me.

8. call to account,

   1. to hold accountable; blame; reprimand.

      Call them to account for having endangered their lives.

   2. ask for an explanation of.

9. turn to account, to derive profit or use from; turn to advantage.

   She has turned her misfortunes to account.

account British  

/ əˈkaʊnt /

noun

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

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

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

4. importance, consequence, or value

   of little account

5. assessment; judgment

6. profit or advantage

   to turn an idea to account

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

8. finance

   1. a business relationship between a bank, department store, stockbroker, etc, and a depositor, customer, or client permitting the latter certain banking or credit services

   2. the sum of money deposited at a bank

   3. the amount of credit available to the holder of an account

   4. a record of these

9. a statement of monetary transactions with the resulting balance

10. (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

11. 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

12. 1. a regular client or customer, esp a firm that purchases commodities on credit

    2. an area of business assigned to another

       they transferred their publicity account to a new agent

13. 1. to insist on explanation

    2. to rebuke; reprimand

    3. to hold responsible

14. to perform badly

    he gave a bad account of himself in the examination

15. to perform well

16. 1. on credit

    2. Also: to account.  as partial payment

17. (preposition) because of; by reason of

18. to take into consideration; allow for

19. 1. to pay or receive a balance due

    2. to get revenge on (someone)

20. See bank account credit account

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verb

1. (tr) to consider or reckon

   he accounts himself poor

account More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing account

• 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

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Usage

What does account mean? An account is a description of an event, either written or spoken, as in When Josh came home late, his parents demanded an account of where he had been. To account means to tell given an explanation of, as you might do in telling a story of events. An account is also a file, profile, or log associated with a business, service, or bank used to keep track of personal information and transactions. To gain access to most social media sites, you have to give the site some basic information, like your name and email address. With this information, the site creates an account for you, giving you access. To account can mean to give an explanation of one’s actions, as in Martina needed to account for her missing homework to avoid getting a zero. Example: According to your account of the evening, you were never near the scene of the crime.

Synonym Usage

See narrative.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subaccount
  noun
• preaccount
  verb
• unaccounted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• accounts
  plural

Participles

• accounting
  present
• accounted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• account
  simple
• accounts
  simple
• have accounted
  perfect
• has accounted
  perfect
• am accounting
  progressive
• are accounting
  progressive
• is accounting
  progressive
• have been accounting
  perfect progressive
• has been accounting
  perfect progressive

Past

• accounted
  simple
• had accounted
  perfect
• was accounting
  progressive
• were accounting
  progressive
• had been accounting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will account
  simple
• will have accounted
  perfect
• will be accounting
  progressive
• will have been accounting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of account

First recorded in 1225–75; (noun) Middle English a(c)ount(e), ac(c)ompte, from Anglo-French, Old French aco(u)nte, acompte; (verb) Middle English ac(co)unten, from Old French acunter, acompter. See ac-, count ¹

Explanation

An account can be many things — such as a story, like if you give a friend an account of what happened at the party she missed. It can also be a business arrangement, like a bank account or an email account. Account is one of those seemingly simple words that have a mass of different meanings. An account can be a narrative or story — a biography, for example, is an account of someone's life. Account can also mean an explanation of something, as in the phrase, "How do you account for that?" An account is also a handy arrangement whereby a store agrees to provide you goods on credit, but then you might have to account for all that debt.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

account accounts accounted accounting

The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that data centers could account for as much as 9% of annual U.S. electricity generation by 2030, compared with 4% of total electricity demand in 2023.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

The question is whether their actions are creating the practical conditions under which reporters can hold power to account.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Many people aim to keep six to 12 months’ worth of living expenses in a liquid account, such as a high-yield savings account.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

A post on the group’s official Instagram account said Laforteza “will be temporarily unable to participate in upcoming promotional activities.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

She was launching into a minute-by-minute account of Zusje’s final day when her eyes lit on the peg from which dangled Nollie’s new hat.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The Strait of Hormuz is, by some accounts, named for a Zoroastrian deity destined to emerge victorious after a 9,000-year standoff with an adversary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

Civilian video has also played a significant role in challenging official accounts of other controversial immigration enforcement encounters.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Japan's national broadcaster NHK reports numerous accounts of trees being toppled by strong winds throughout Nago city in Okinawa, while a car was found overturned and leaking oil in a parking lot.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

You should also be strategic about withdrawals from your retirement accounts.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

That seating chart accounts for all the rational numbers—it assigns each of them a seat—so we can count them off one by one, in order, based on their seat number.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Last year, vinyl record purchases accounted for more than $1 billion in U.S. sales, up more than 9%, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America’s annual report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

The analysis accounted for a wide range of factors that could influence the results.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

Previously, this accounted for how companies created social value through measures such as equality and diversity, net zero and the post-Covid recovery.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Southeast Asian countries accounted for much of that growth, with the governments of Malaysia and Thailand pushing solar adoption and Cambodia setting an import record in March.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Financial risk had been created out of thin air, and it begged to be either honestly accounted for or disguised.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

To date, Lyme disease is still by far the most commonly diagnosed, accounting for more than 80 percent of tick-related diseases, with 476,000 patients in the U.S. receiving treatment annually.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

Last year, the Greater Odesa ports accounted for more than 73 million tonnes of Ukraine's maritime exports, with grain accounting for 38 million tonnes.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The debacle was a driving force in the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which tightened regulations over governance, accounting and related-party transactions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

In 1990, European drug companies invested far more than American companies, accounting for 49.1% of global research and development, compared with 33.3% in the U.S., according to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

All these subprime lending companies were growing so rapidly, and using such goofy accounting, that they could mask the fact that they had no real earnings, just illusory, accounting-driven, ones.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• detail
• explanation
• history
• narrative
• report
• story
• tale
• version