accountable
Americanadjective
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subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; responsible; answerable.
-
capable of being explained; explicable; explainable.
adjective
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responsible to someone or for some action; answerable
-
able to be explained
Usage
What does accountable mean? Accountable means obligated to explain, justify, and take responsibility for one's actions, and to answer to someone, such as a person with more authority.The state of being accountable is accountability.The word accountable is often used in the context of individuals taking responsibility for their actions. It’s also commonly used in the context of institutions or people that are responsible to the public, such as the government, its agencies, politicians, and the media. Accountability is often discussed with transparency and consequences. This typically involves keeping people and organizations accountable by making their actions visible and having consequences when those actions are not acceptable.Accountable is often used with the verb hold, as in We need to hold him accountable for his actions. Example: The system of checks and balances is intended to keep the different branches of government accountable.
Other Word Forms
- accountability noun
- accountableness noun
- accountably adverb
- nonaccountable adjective
Etymology
Origin of accountable
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English; account + -able
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.
GAO officials said the steps the Education Department is currently taking to monitor servicers “are not a substitute for directly assessing servicer accuracy and call quality and holding servicers accountable for their performance.”
From MarketWatch
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday announced the creation of a tool to track hate speech on social media and hold them accountable, in his latest measure targeting tech giants.
From Barron's
McDonnell said the department was increasing visibility, strengthening enforcement and expanding partnerships to deter criminal activity in the area and hold offenders accountable.
From Los Angeles Times
“Through close collaboration between state and federal authorities, we were able to identify, locate, and safely recover 37 vulnerable children while holding those responsible for their exploitation accountable.”
From Los Angeles Times
Many of the problems we face are self-inflicted, and they are fixable with proper allocation of resources, and enlightened and accountable leadership.
From MarketWatch
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.
