account

[uh-kount]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR account ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an oral or written description of particular events or situations; narrative: an account of the meetings; an account of the trip.

an explanatory statement of conduct, as to a superior.

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

reason; basis: On this account I'm refusing your offer.

importance; worth; value; consequence: things of no account.

estimation; judgment: In his account it was an excellent piece of work.

an amount of money deposited with a bank, as in a checking or savings account: My account is now with Third National.

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.

a statement of financial transactions.

Bookkeeping.

a formal record of the debits and credits relating to the person, business, etc., named at the head of the ledger account.
a balance of a specified period's receipts and expenditures.

Commerce.

a business relation in which credit is used.
any customer or client, especially one carried on a regular credit basis.
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.

verb (used without object)

to give an explanation (usually followed by for): to account for the accident.

to answer concerning one's conduct, duties, etc. (usually followed by for): to account for the missing typewriters.

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

to cause (usually followed by for): The humidity accounts for our discomfort. His reckless driving accounted for the accident.

verb (used with object)

to regard; consider as: I account myself well paid.

to assign or impute (usually followed by to): the many virtues accounted to him.

Idioms

call to account,

to hold accountable; blame; reprimand: Call them to account for having endangered their lives.
ask for an explanation of.

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.

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.

on account, as an installment or a partial payment: I can't pay the balance, but here's $10 on account.

on account of,

by reason of; because of.
for the sake of: She saw it through on account of me.

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

on no account, under no circumstances; absolutely not: On no account should you buy that painting without having it appraised.

take account of,

to make allowance for; consider: One must take account of the difficult circumstances. Taking account of the high overhead, the price is not excessive.
to notice or observe.

Also take into account.

turn to account, to derive profit or use from; turn to advantage: She has turned her misfortunes to account.

Origin of account

1225–75; (noun) Middle English a(c)ount(e), ac(c)ompte < Anglo-French, Old French aco(u)nte, acompte; (v.) Middle English ac(co)unten < Old French acunter, acompter. See ac-, count¹

Related formspre·ac·count, verbsub·ac·count, nounun·ac·count·ed, adjective

Synonyms for account

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR account ON THESAURUS.COM

1. report, chronicle. 2. justification. 5. import, significance. 6. consideration.

Synonym study

1. See narrative.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for accounted

putative, assumed, alleged, supposed, rumored, regarded, tally, include, estimate, total, outweigh, neutralize, equal, negate, counteract, balance, calculate, surmise, consider, think

Examples from the Web for accounted

Contemporary Examples of accounted

The Democrats won by 14 percent in the more urban areas, but these accounted for barely one-third of the total vote.
The Progressives’ War on Suburbia
Joel Kotkin
November 16, 2014
In contrast, in 2010 Republicans accounted for a higher percentage (36 percent) and Democrats were two points lower at 47 percent.
In North Carolina, GOP Overreach May Be More Unpopular Than Obama
Dean Obeidallah
November 3, 2014
In 2011, Iran accounted for 80 per cent of the opium seizures in the world, and 30 percent of the heroin seizures.
As Iran’s Marijuana Trade Thrives, Is It Becoming a Nation of Stoners?
IranWire
August 10, 2014
Natural gas in 2012 accounted for 30 percent of electricity generation in the U.S., compared with 20 percent in 2005.
Diesel Trains May Soon Use Natural Gas Instead
The Daily Beast
May 27, 2014
Its allies have fared little better, and even with them accounted for, a Congress-led alliance barely limps to 60 seats.
Modi Crushes Gandhi in India’s Election Landslide
Tunku Varadarajan
May 16, 2014

Historical Examples of accounted

The matter, I think, may be accounted for after the following manner.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
David Hume
The great conflicts of the West, and the minor battles had accounted for the others.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
That accounted for everything; and Mary had no time for talk.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
A thickness of speech was accounted for by the absence of teeth.
Roden's Corner
Henry Seton Merriman
This, no doubt, accounted for the embarrassment so manifest in the Countess's manner.
The Room in the Dragon Volant
J. Sheridan LeFanu

British Dictionary definitions for accounted

account

noun

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

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

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

importance, consequence, or valueof little account

assessment; judgment

profit or advantageto turn an idea to account

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

finance

a business relationship between a bank, department store, stockbroker, etc, and a depositor, customer, or client permitting the latter certain banking or credit services
the sum of money deposited at a bank
the amount of credit available to the holder of an account
a record of these

a statement of monetary transactions with the resulting balance

(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

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

a regular client or customer, esp a firm that purchases commodities on credit
an area of business assigned to anotherthey transferred their publicity account to a new agent

call to account or bring to account

to insist on explanation
to rebuke; reprimand
to hold responsible

give a bad account of oneself to perform badlyhe gave a bad account of himself in the examination

give a good account of oneself to perform well

on account

on credit
Also: to accountas partial payment

on account of (preposition) because of; by reason of

take account of or take into account to take into consideration; allow for

settle accounts with or square accounts with

to pay or receive a balance due
to get revenge on (someone)

See bank account, credit account

verb

(tr) to consider or reckonhe accounts himself poor

Word Origin for account

C13: from Old French acont, from conter, compter to count 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for accounted

account

c.1300, "reckoning of money received and paid," from Old French acont "account, reckoning, terminal payment," from a "to" (see ad-) + cont "counting, reckoning of money to be paid," from Late Latin computus "a calculation," from Latin computare "calculate" (see compute).

Meaning "sum of (one's) money in a bank" is from 1833. Sense of "narration" is first attested 1610s. Plural accounts used as a collective or singular in phrases such as to give accounts (of something), is from mid-13c. Phrase by all accounts is attested from 1798.

account

c.1300, "to count, enumerate," from Old French aconter "to count, render account" (Modern French conter), from a "to" (see ad-) + conter "to count, tell" (see count (v.)). Meaning "to reckon for money given or received, render a reckoning," is from late 14c.; sense of "to explain" (c.1710) is from notion of "answer for money held in trust." Transferred sense of "value" is from late 14c. Related: Accounted; accounting.

Idioms and Phrases with accounted

account

In addition to the idiom beginning with account

account for

also see:

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