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account

[uh-kount]
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noun
  1. an oral or written description of particular events or situations; narrative: an account of the meetings; an account of the trip.
  2. an explanatory statement of conduct, as to a superior.
  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.
  6. estimation; judgment: In his account it was an excellent piece of work.
  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.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to give an explanation (usually followed by for): to account for the accident.
  2. to answer concerning one's conduct, duties, etc. (usually followed by for): to account for the missing typewriters.
  3. to provide a report on money received, kept, and spent.
  4. to cause (usually followed by for): The humidity accounts for our discomfort. His reckless driving accounted for the accident.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to regard; consider as: I account myself well paid.
  2. to assign or impute (usually followed by to): the many virtues accounted to him.
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Idioms
  1. call to account,
    1. to hold accountable; blame; reprimand: Call them to account for having endangered their lives.
    2. ask for an explanation of.
  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. 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.
  4. on account, as an installment or a partial payment: I can't pay the balance, but here's $10 on account.
  5. on account of,
    1. by reason of; because of.
    2. for the sake of: She saw it through on account of me.
  6. on all accounts, in any case; under any circumstances.Also at all accounts.
  7. on no account, under no circumstances; absolutely not: On no account should you buy that painting without having it appraised.
  8. take account of,
    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.
    Also take into account.
  9. turn to account, to derive profit or use from; turn to advantage: She has turned her misfortunes to account.
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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

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. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for call to account

account

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 valueof little account
  5. assessment; judgment
  6. profit or advantageto 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
    1. a regular client or customer, esp a firm that purchases commodities on credit
    2. an area of business assigned to anotherthey transferred their publicity account to a new agent
  13. call to account or bring to account
    1. to insist on explanation
    2. to rebuke; reprimand
    3. to hold responsible
  14. give a bad account of oneself to perform badlyhe gave a bad account of himself in the examination
  15. give a good account of oneself to perform well
  16. on account
    1. on credit
    2. Also: to accountas partial payment
  17. on account of (preposition) because of; by reason of
  18. take account of or take into account to take into consideration; allow for
  19. settle accounts with or square accounts with
    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 reckonhe accounts himself poor
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Word Origin

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 call to account

account

n.

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.

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account

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with call to account

call to account

1

Hold answerable, as in One day soon we'll be called to account for the child's behavior: [Mid-1500s]

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2

Challenge or contest, as in The IRS is bound to call us to account on these deductions. [First half of 1800s]

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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
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.