account
♦♦♦ ac|count /ək'aʊnt/ (accounts accounting accounted)
1 [N-COUNT]
If you have an account with a bank or a similar organization, you have an arrangement to leave your money there and take some out when you need it.
Some banks make it difficult to open an account...
I had two accounts with Natwest, a savings account and a current account.
2 [N-COUNT]
In business, a regular customer of a company can be referred to as an account, especially when the customer is another company. (BUSINESS)
Biggart Donald, the Glasgow-based marketing agency, has won two Edinburgh accounts.
3 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Accounts are detailed records of all the money that a person or business receives and spends. (BUSINESS)
He kept detailed accounts.
...an account book.
4 [N-COUNT] with supp, usu N of n
An account is a written or spoken report of something that has happened.
He gave a detailed account of what happened on the fateful night...
= report
5
see also accounting, bank account, deposit account, deposit account, joint
6 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
If you say that something is true by all accounts or from all accounts, you believe it is true because other people say so.
He is, by all accounts, a superb teacher.
7 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone gave a good account of themselves in a particular situation, you mean that they performed well, although they may not have been completely successful.
The team fought hard and gave a good account of themselves.
8 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that something is of no account or of little account, you mean that it is very unimportant and is not worth considering. (FORMAL)
These obscure groups were of little account in national politics.
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you buy or pay for something on account, you pay nothing or only part of the cost at first, and pay the rest later.
He bought two bottles of vodka on account.
10 [PREP-PHRASE]
You use on account of to introduce the reason or explanation for something.
The President declined to deliver the speech himself, on account of a sore throat...
11 [PHRASE] usu adj/n PHR
Your feelings on someone's account are the feelings you have about what they have experienced or might experience, especially when you imagine yourself to be in their situation.
Mollie told me what she'd done and I was really scared on her account.
12 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you tell someone not to do something on your account, you mean that they should do it only if they want to, and not because they think it will please you. (SPOKEN)
Don't leave on my account.
13 [PHRASE]
If you say that something should on no account be done, you are emphasizing that it should not be done under any circumstances.
On no account should the mixture boil.
14 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you do something on your own account, you do it because you want to and without being asked, and you take responsibility for your own action.
I told him if he withdrew it was on his own account.
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you take something into account, or take account of something, you consider it when you are thinking about a situation or deciding what to do.
The defendant asked for 21 similar offences to be taken into account...
Urban planners in practice have to take account of many interest groups in society.
= consider
16 [PHRASE] V inflects, oft PHR for n
If someone is called, held, or brought to account for something they have done wrong, they are made to explain why they did it, and are often criticized or punished for it.
Ministers should be called to account for their actions.account for
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If a particular thing accounts for a part or proportion of something, that part or proportion consists of that thing, or is used or produced by it.
Computers account for 5% of the country's commercial electricity consumption.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If something accounts for a particular fact or situation, it causes or explains it.
Now, the gene they discovered today doesn't account for all those cases.
= explain
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If you can account for something, you can explain it or give the necessary information about it.
How do you account for the company's alarmingly high staff turnover?...
He said only 200 of the train's 600 passengers had been accounted for.
= explain
4 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If someone has to account for an action or policy, they are responsible for it, and may be required to explain it to other people or be punished if it fails.
The President and the President alone must account for his government's reforms.
= answer for
5 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P
If a sum of money is accounted for in a budget, it has been included in that budget for a particular purpose.
The really heavy redundancy costs have been accounted for.
= budget forbank ac|count (bank accounts)
[N-COUNT]
A bank account is an arrangement with a bank which allows you to keep your money in the bank and to take some out when you need it.capi|tal ac|count (capital accounts)
1 [N-COUNT]
A country's capital account is the part of its balance of payments that is concerned with the movement of capital.
2 [N-COUNT]
A capital account is a financial statement showing the capital value of a company on a particular date. (BUSINESS)check|ing ac|count (checking accounts)
[N-COUNT]
A checking account is a personal bank account which you can take money out of at any time using your cheque book or cash card. (AM; in BRIT, usually use current account)cur|rent ac|count (current accounts)
1 [N-COUNT]
A current account is a personal bank account which you can take money out of at any time using your cheque book or cash card. (BRIT; in AM, use checking account)
His current account was seriously overdrawn.
2 [N-COUNT] usu sing, oft N n
A country's current account is the difference in value between its exports and imports over a particular period of time. (BUSINESS)
Portugal will probably have a small current-account surplus for 1992.de|pos|it ac|count (deposit accounts)
[N-COUNT]
A deposit account is a type of bank account where the money in it earns interest. (BRIT; in AM, use savings account)ex|pense ac|count (expense accounts)
[N-COUNT]
An expense account is an arrangement between an employer and an employee which allows the employee to spend the company's money on things relating to their job, for example travelling or looking after clients. (BUSINESS)
He put Elizabeth's motel bill and airfare on his expense account.
...expense account lunches.
1 [N-COUNT]
If you have an account with a bank or a similar organization, you have an arrangement to leave your money there and take some out when you need it.
Some banks make it difficult to open an account...
I had two accounts with Natwest, a savings account and a current account.
2 [N-COUNT]
In business, a regular customer of a company can be referred to as an account, especially when the customer is another company. (BUSINESS)
Biggart Donald, the Glasgow-based marketing agency, has won two Edinburgh accounts.
3 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Accounts are detailed records of all the money that a person or business receives and spends. (BUSINESS)
He kept detailed accounts.
...an account book.
4 [N-COUNT] with supp, usu N of n
An account is a written or spoken report of something that has happened.
He gave a detailed account of what happened on the fateful night...
= report
5
see also accounting, bank account, deposit account, deposit account, joint
6 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
If you say that something is true by all accounts or from all accounts, you believe it is true because other people say so.
He is, by all accounts, a superb teacher.
7 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone gave a good account of themselves in a particular situation, you mean that they performed well, although they may not have been completely successful.
The team fought hard and gave a good account of themselves.
8 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that something is of no account or of little account, you mean that it is very unimportant and is not worth considering. (FORMAL)
These obscure groups were of little account in national politics.
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you buy or pay for something on account, you pay nothing or only part of the cost at first, and pay the rest later.
He bought two bottles of vodka on account.
10 [PREP-PHRASE]
You use on account of to introduce the reason or explanation for something.
The President declined to deliver the speech himself, on account of a sore throat...
11 [PHRASE] usu adj/n PHR
Your feelings on someone's account are the feelings you have about what they have experienced or might experience, especially when you imagine yourself to be in their situation.
Mollie told me what she'd done and I was really scared on her account.
12 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you tell someone not to do something on your account, you mean that they should do it only if they want to, and not because they think it will please you. (SPOKEN)
Don't leave on my account.
13 [PHRASE]
If you say that something should on no account be done, you are emphasizing that it should not be done under any circumstances.
On no account should the mixture boil.
14 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you do something on your own account, you do it because you want to and without being asked, and you take responsibility for your own action.
I told him if he withdrew it was on his own account.
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you take something into account, or take account of something, you consider it when you are thinking about a situation or deciding what to do.
The defendant asked for 21 similar offences to be taken into account...
Urban planners in practice have to take account of many interest groups in society.
= consider
16 [PHRASE] V inflects, oft PHR for n
If someone is called, held, or brought to account for something they have done wrong, they are made to explain why they did it, and are often criticized or punished for it.
Ministers should be called to account for their actions.account for
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If a particular thing accounts for a part or proportion of something, that part or proportion consists of that thing, or is used or produced by it.
Computers account for 5% of the country's commercial electricity consumption.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If something accounts for a particular fact or situation, it causes or explains it.
Now, the gene they discovered today doesn't account for all those cases.
= explain
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P n
If you can account for something, you can explain it or give the necessary information about it.
How do you account for the company's alarmingly high staff turnover?...
He said only 200 of the train's 600 passengers had been accounted for.
= explain
4 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If someone has to account for an action or policy, they are responsible for it, and may be required to explain it to other people or be punished if it fails.
The President and the President alone must account for his government's reforms.
= answer for
5 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P
If a sum of money is accounted for in a budget, it has been included in that budget for a particular purpose.
The really heavy redundancy costs have been accounted for.
= budget forbank ac|count (bank accounts)
[N-COUNT]
A bank account is an arrangement with a bank which allows you to keep your money in the bank and to take some out when you need it.capi|tal ac|count (capital accounts)
1 [N-COUNT]
A country's capital account is the part of its balance of payments that is concerned with the movement of capital.
2 [N-COUNT]
A capital account is a financial statement showing the capital value of a company on a particular date. (BUSINESS)check|ing ac|count (checking accounts)
[N-COUNT]
A checking account is a personal bank account which you can take money out of at any time using your cheque book or cash card. (AM; in BRIT, usually use current account)cur|rent ac|count (current accounts)
1 [N-COUNT]
A current account is a personal bank account which you can take money out of at any time using your cheque book or cash card. (BRIT; in AM, use checking account)
His current account was seriously overdrawn.
2 [N-COUNT] usu sing, oft N n
A country's current account is the difference in value between its exports and imports over a particular period of time. (BUSINESS)
Portugal will probably have a small current-account surplus for 1992.de|pos|it ac|count (deposit accounts)
[N-COUNT]
A deposit account is a type of bank account where the money in it earns interest. (BRIT; in AM, use savings account)ex|pense ac|count (expense accounts)
[N-COUNT]
An expense account is an arrangement between an employer and an employee which allows the employee to spend the company's money on things relating to their job, for example travelling or looking after clients. (BUSINESS)
He put Elizabeth's motel bill and airfare on his expense account.
...expense account lunches.