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.
Digital Technology. an electronic identity, as a username and its associated data, assigned to an individual or group for secure, personalized access to a website, network, digital service, etc.: I don’t access my work account from my home computer.Your email account has been hacked!
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 documents.
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 for account
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
First recorded in 1225–75; (noun) Middle English a(c)ount(e), ac(c)ompte, from Anglo-French, Old French aco(u)nte, acompte; (verb) Middle English ac(co)unten, from Old French acunter, acompter.See ac-, count1
Try, try, and try againThere are a myriad of fitness accounts out there and you’ll be able to find lots of different types of exercises—that’s the beauty of TikTok, even if it’s slightly intimidating.
Use TikTok to build the perfect workout|Sandra Gutierrez G.|September 17, 2020|Popular Science
Twitter is taking steps to tighten account security for a range of users ahead of the US presidential election, including by requiring the use of strong passwords.
Twitter tightens account security for political candidates ahead of US election|Natasha Lomas|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch
The media conglomerate has taken into account four years’ worth of data pertaining particularly to auto advertisers, such as gas prices, interest rates, and car registrations across 25 auto brands.
NBCUniversal tests new measurement program to prove it can push product sales for advertisers|Tim Peterson|September 17, 2020|Digiday
He actually reached out to a friend of his who had an air-conditioning and refrigeration business who had a few accounts with restaurants, and he got me an interview.
Tom Colicchio Hopes (and Fears) COVID-19 Will Change the Restaurant Industry|Pallabi Munsi|September 16, 2020|Ozy
Presently palm oil accounts for 60 percent of all cooking oil, more than 62 million tons in total.
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo - Issue 90: Something Green|Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
The account goes some way in showing just how present the Quds and other forces are in Iraq at this point in time.
What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq|IranWire|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But his account of a dissident plot involving Gambian expats using U.S. weapons is similar to what Faal told the FBI.
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As it currently stands, the Via Dolorosa follows the account given in the Gospel of John.
Oops! Jesus’ Last Steps Are in the Wrong Place|Candida Moss|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The gentleman was listed as Orthodox and kosher, which is way too religious for my friend whose JSwipe account I was test-driving.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This wasn't even my own account on JSwipe, which has been described as the Jewish Tinder.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He took the place of Jean Valjean, who, on account of his arm being still in a sling, could not give his hand to the bride.
Les Misrables|Victor Hugo
Perhaps I shall be able to justify it, and make my meaning clearer too, if I give an account of my own feelings about music.
Art|Clive Bell
But he was not on that account forced to confine himself to literature.
Stories of Authors, British and American|Edwin Watts Chubb
On this account he overcame his slight feeling against Mr. Dare, and put a question to test that gentleman's capacities.
A Laodicean|Thomas Hardy
She was always ready to get into trouble on his account, and he was always delighted to lead her there.
Johnny Bear|E. T. Seton
British Dictionary definitions for account
account
/ (əˈkaʊnt) /
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'sorsomeone'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
accountinga 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 accountorbring to account
to insist on explanation
to rebuke; reprimand
to hold responsible
give a bad account of oneselfto perform badlyhe gave a bad account of himself in the examination
give a good account of oneselfto perform well
on account
on credit
Also: to accountas partial payment
on account of(preposition)because of; by reason of
take account ofortake into accountto take into consideration; allow for
settle accounts withorsquare 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 count1