account

ac|count¹ W1S2 [əˈkaunt] n

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(description)¦

2¦(at a bank)¦

3 take account of something

4 on account of something

5 accounts

6 on account

7¦(with a shop/company)¦

8¦(bill)¦

9¦(arrangement to sell goods)¦

10 by/from all accounts

11 on somebody's account

12 on your own account

13 on no account/not on any account

14 by somebody's own account

15 on that account/on this account

16 give a good/poor account of yourself

17 bring/call somebody to account

18 put/turn something to good account

19 of no/little account

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1.) ¦(DESCRIPTION)¦

a written or spoken description that says what happens in an event or process

account of

▪ He was too shocked to give an account of what had happened.

blow-by-blow account

(=a description of all the details of an event in the order that they happened)

▪ a blow-by-blow account of how England lost to Portugal

▪ Chomsky's account of how children learn their first language

eye-witness/first-hand account

(=description of events by someone who saw them)

▪ Eye-witness accounts told of the unprovoked shooting of civilians.

▪ This gives a first-hand account of the war.

2.) ¦(AT A BANK)¦

written abbreviation a/c

or acct.

an arrangement in which a bank keeps your money safe so that you can pay more in or take money out

▪ My salary is paid directly into my bank account.

▪ I've opened an account with Barclay's Bank.

▪ My husband and I have a joint account (=one that is shared between two people) .

→↑bank account, ↑checking account, ↑current account, ↑deposit account, ↑profit and loss account, ↑savings account

3.) take account of sth also take sth into account

to consider or include particular facts or details when making a decision or judgment about something

▪ These figures do not take account of changes in the rate of inflation.

4.) on account of sth

because of something else, especially a problem or difficulty

▪ She was told to wear flat shoes, on account of her back problem.

5.) accounts

a) [plural]

an exact record of the money that a company has received and the money it has spent

▪ The accounts for last year showed a profit of $2 million.

b) [U]

a department in a company that is responsible for keeping records of the amount of money spent and received

▪ Eileen works in accounts.

6.) on account

if you buy goods on account, you take them away with you and pay for them later

7.) ¦(WITH A SHOP/COMPANY)¦

an arrangement that you have with a shop or company, which allows you to buy goods or use a service now and pay for them later

= ↑credit account

▪ Can you charge this to my account please?

▪ an unlimited-use Internet account

8.) ¦(BILL)¦

a statement that shows how much money you owe for things you have bought from a shop

= ↑bill

pay/settle your account

(=pay what you owe)

▪ James left the restaurant, settling his account by credit card.

9.) ¦(ARRANGEMENT TO SELL GOODS)¦

an arrangement to sell goods and services to another company over a period of time

▪ Our sales manager has secured several big accounts recently.

10.) by/from all accounts

according to what a lot of people say

▪ It has, from all accounts, been a successful marriage.

11.) on sb's account

if you do something on someone's account, you do it because you think they want you to

▪ Please don't change your plans on my account.

12.) on your own account

by yourself or for yourself

▪ Carrie decided to do a little research on her own account.

13.) on no account/not on any account

used when saying that someone must not, for any reason, do something

▪ On no account must you disturb me when I'm working.

14.) by sb's own account

according to what you have said, especially when you have admitted doing something wrong

▪ Bentley was, by his own account, over-sensitive to criticism.

15.) on that account/on this account

concerning a particular situation

▪ There needn't be any more worries on that account.

16.) give a good/poor account of yourself

to do something or perform very well or very badly

▪ Kevin gave a good account of himself in today's game.

17.) bring/call sb to account

formal to force someone who is responsible for a mistake or a crime to explain publicly why they did it and punish them for it if necessary

▪ The people responsible for the accident have never been brought to account.

18.) put/turn sth to good account

formal to use something for a good purpose

▪ Perhaps she could put some of her talents to good account by helping us.

19.) of no/little account

formal not important

▪ As she grew up, her father was of no account to her.

account ²

account² W2 v

account for [account for sth] phr v

[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: acompter, from compter 'to count']

1.) to form a particular amount or part of something

▪ Afro-Americans account for 12% of the US population.

2.) to be the reason why something happens

= ↑explain

▪ Recent pressure at work may account for his behavior.

3.) to give a satisfactory explanation of why something has happened or why you did something

= ↑explain

▪ Can you account for your movements on that night?

4.) to say where all the members of a group of people or things are, especially because you are worried that some of them may be lost

▪ Three days after the earthquake, more than 150 people had still to be accounted for.