account for

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ac·count

(ə-kount′)

1. A narrative or record of events.

a. A reason given for a particular action or event: What is the account for this loss?

b. A report relating to one's conduct: gave a satisfactory account of herself.

c. A basis or ground: no reason to worry on that account.

a. A formal banking, brokerage, or business relationship established to provide for regular services, dealings, and other financial transactions.

b. A precise list or enumeration of financial transactions.

c. A sum of money deposited for checking, savings, or brokerage use.

d. A customer having a business or credit relationship with a firm: salespeople visiting their accounts.

4. A private access to a computer system or online service, usually requiring a password to enter.

5. Worth, standing, or importance: a landowner of some account.

6. Profit or advantage: turned her writing skills to good account.

tr.v. ac·count·ed, ac·count·ing, ac·counts

To consider as being; deem. See Synonyms at consider. See Usage Note at as¹.

Phrasal Verb:

account for

1. To constitute the governing or primary factor in: Bad weather accounted for the long delay.

2. To provide an explanation or justification for: The suspect couldn't account for his time that night.

Idioms:

call to account

1. To challenge or contest.

2. To hold answerable for.

on account

On credit.

on account of

Because of; for the sake of: "We got married on account of the baby" (Anne Tyler).

on no account

Under no circumstances.

on (one's) own account

1. For oneself.

2. On one's own; by oneself: He wants to work on his own account.

on (someone's) account

For someone's benefit: It's nice of you to make such an effort on his account.

take into account

To take into consideration; allow for.

[Middle English, from Old French acont, from aconter, to reckon : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + cunter, to count (from Latin computāre, to sum up; see compute).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

account for

vb (intr, preposition)

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	account for - be the reason or explanation for; "The recession accounts for the slow retail business" be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"
	2.	account for - give reasons for; "Can you account for all these absences?" explain, explicate - make plain and comprehensible; "He explained the laws of physics to his students"

account

noun

1. A recounting of past events:

chronicle, description, history, narration, narrative, report, statement, story, version.

2. A statement of causes or motives:

explanation, justification, rationale, rationalization, reason.

3. A precise list of fees or charges:

bill, check, invoice, reckoning, statement.

Informal: tab.

4. A feeling of deference, approval, and liking:

admiration, appreciation, consideration, esteem, estimation, favor, honor, regard, respect.

5. A measure of those qualities that determine merit, desirability, usefulness, or importance:

valuation, value, worth.

6. The quality of being suitable or adaptable to an end:

advantage, avail, benefit, profit, use, usefulness, utility.

verb

To look upon in a particular way:

consider, deem, esteem, reckon, regard, see, view.

phrasal verb
account for

To offer reasons for or a cause of:

explain, justify, rationalize.

Translations

يُفَسِّرُيُفَسِّـر ، يُبَيِّن السَبَب

vysvětlit

forklaregøre rede forredegøre for

erklären

λογοδοτώ

explicar dar cuenta de

selittää

expliquer rendre compte de

razjasniti

elszámol

gera grein fyrir, útskÿra

rendere conto di

･･･の説明がつく

설명하다

verklaren

forklare gjøre greie for svare for

wyjaśnić

explicar prestar contas

давать отчет

svara för

อธิบายเหตุผล

açıklamakhesabını vermekhesap vermek

giải thích

解释说明

w>account for

vi +prep obj

(= explain) → erklären; (= give account of) actions, expenditure → Rechenschaft ablegen über (+acc); how do you account for it? → wie erklären Sie sich (dat) → das?; he wasn’t able to account for the missing money → er konnte den Verbleib des fehlenden Geldes nicht erklären; all the children were/all the money was accounted for → der Verbleib aller Kinder/des (ganzen) Geldes war bekannt, man wusste, wo die Kinder alle waren/wo das Geld (geblieben) war; there’s no accounting for taste → über Geschmack lässt sich (nicht) streiten

(= be the source of) → der Grund sein für; this area accounts for most of the country’s mineral wealth → aus dieser Gegend stammen die meisten Bodenschätze des Landes; this area alone accounts for some 25% of the population → diese Gegend allein macht etwa 25% der Bevölkerung aus; he accounts for most of the accidents → die meisten Unfälle gehen auf sein Konto (inf)

(= be the cause of defeat, destruction etc of) → zur Strecke bringen; (illness) → dahinraffen; chances → zunichtemachen; Proctor accounted for five Australian batsmen → Proctor hat fünf australische Schlagmänner ausgeschlagen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

account

(əˈkaunt) noun

1. an arrangement by which a person keeps his money in a bank. I have (opened) an account with the local bank.

2. a statement of money owing. Send me an account.

3. a description or explanation (of something that has happened). a full account of his holiday.

4. an arrangement by which a person makes a regular (eg monthly) payment instead of paying at the time of buying. I have an account at Smiths.

5. (usually in plural) a record of money received and spent. You must keep your accounts in order; (also adjective) an account book.

acˈcountancy noun

the work of an accountant. He is studying accountancy.

acˈcountant noun

a keeper or inspector of (money) accounts. He employs an accountant to deal with his income tax.

account for

to give a reason for; to explain. I can account for the mistake.

on account of

because of. She stayed indoors on account of the bad weather.

on my/his (etc) account

because of me, him etc or for my, his etc sake. You don't have to leave early on my account.

on no account

not for any reason. On no account must you open that door.

take (something) into account, take account of (something)

to consider (something which is part of the problem etc). We must take his illness into account when assessing his work.

account for

→ يُفَسِّرُ vysvětlit redegøre for erklären λογοδοτώ dar cuenta de, explicar selittää expliquer razjasniti rendere conto di ･･･の説明がつく 설명하다 verklaren svare for wyjaśnić explicar, prestar contas давать отчет svara för อธิบายเหตุผล hesap vermek giải thích 解释

References in classic literature ?

Augustine's account, who had received the profits for above fourteen years; but not being able to account for what was disposed of by the hospital, very honestly declared he had eight hundred and seventy-two moidores not distributed, which he acknowledged to my account: as to the king's part, that refunded nothing.

View in context

'I account for it, sir,' she pursued after an awkward silence on Mr Dorrit's part, 'by having no doubt that he is travelling somewhere, or hiding somewhere.'

View in context

The Tax Court in Findley, 25 TC 311 (1955), stated that, in the case of a debt that has become partly worthless, the charge-off is an act "to perpetuate evidence of taxpayer's election to abandon part of the debt as an asset." While merely increasing a general reserve account without specifically identifying the debt(s) to which the reserve increase relates does not provide evidence sufficient to comply with the statute (see, e.g., International Proprietaries, Inc., 18 TC 133 (1952)), increasing a reserve account for specifically identified debt(s) that are partly worthless can constitute a charge-off for purposes of Sec.

The bad-debt reserve: opportunity for partial current deduction

We also support fair value accounting for assets and liabilities used in the business of short-term trading for profit, such as the trading account for banks.

Fair value accounting

1, one crucial issue for the insurance industry remains unresolved and will occupy the IASB for the next few years--how to account for liabilities related to insurance contracts.

Reserving judgment: the advent of the International Financial Reporting Standard finds European insurers in a gray area when it comes to accounting for insurance contracts

This approach is called the transaction-based valuation approach, and it will enable DoD to track the asset from cradle to grave and to account for the value of the asset.

Military equipment valuation to achieve a clean audit: who cares?

Some subsidiaries may account for dividend income on the cash method for tax reporting and on the accrual method for books.

TEI comments on proposed Schedule M-3 of Form 1120: June 7, 2004

Are there really two correct ways to account for transactions?

Differential problems & possibilities accounting: the concept of big and little GAAP has been discussed for more than 20 years. Now, on the brink of international convergence, many argue its time has finally come

If contract accounting does not apply, the vendor must account for the revenue from each of the various products based on vendor-specific objective evidence of fair values, regardless of any separate prices stated within the contract for each element.

Heads, it's revenue: why companies struggle to comply with revenue recognition guidance

When Lemon credited the bank account for the checks she made out to herself, the corresponding debit was false.

Enemies within: asset misappropriation comes in many forms. (The Fraud Beat)

"Many small businesspeople have a problem just understanding what they need to use the bank account for," says Ralph J.

Accounting for small businesses

The government instructs Citibank to debit its $100 million account for, say, $2.5 million, and transfer the money to another account at Citibank, this time in the name of a Swiss bank.