call to account

Idioms  

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

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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Example Sentences

How something can be prideful and at the same time call to account the nation that you’re writing about.

From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2020

“I mean, power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive,” Bush said, “and it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2018

“Power can be very addictive, and it can be corrosive. And it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere.”

From New York Times • Jul. 2, 2017

Bosnia is a country without a reckoning, a call to account.

From The Guardian • Dec. 6, 2016

If this is correct, then this passage is a witness for immortality; for how could God call to account a person who, being dead, no longer exists?

From Commentary on Genesis, Vol. II Luther on Sin and the Flood by Lenker, John Nicholas