account for

British  

verb

1. to give reasons for (an event, act, etc)

2. to make or provide a reckoning of (expenditure, payments, etc)

3. to be responsible for destroying, killing, or putting (people, aircraft, etc) out of action

---

account for Idioms  

1. Be the determining factor in; cause. For example, The heat wave accounts for all this food spoilage , or Icy roads account for the increase in accidents .

2. Explain or justify, as in Jane was upset because her son couldn't account for the three hours between his last class and his arrival at home . Both of these related usages are derived from the literal meaning of the phrase, that is, “make a reckoning of an account.” [Second half of 1700s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

account for

In particular, the benchmarks we look to need to account for inflation and reflect worker productivity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The report revealed the spy agency now estimates there are "thousands" of memory cards, hard drives and other portable media items it can neither find nor account for.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Scientists have pushed X-ray generation beyond a long-accepted limit in laser physics, revealing a surprising quantum effect that conventional theory does not account for.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

It was enough immigrants to account for nearly all the losses Springfield had suffered over the years.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

No one knew how to account for an existence like Buffo’s.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---