account for

verb

1. be the reason or explanation for (Freq. 24)

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The recession accounts for the slow retail business

• Hypernyms: ↑be

• Verb Frames:

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Something ——s something

2. give reasons for (Freq. 6)

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Can you account for all these absences?

• Hypernyms: ↑explain, ↑explicate

• Verb Frames:

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Somebody ——s something

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Something ——s something

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1) give a satisfactory record of (something, typically money, that one is responsible for)

■ provide or serve as a satisfactory explanation or reason for

he was brought before the Board to account for his behavior

■ usu. be accounted for know the fate or whereabouts of (someone or something), esp. after an accident

everyone was accounted for after the floods

■ succeed in killing, destroying, or defeating

a mishit drive accounted for Jones, who had scored 32

2) supply or make up a specified amount or proportion of

social security accounts for about a third of total public spending

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account for [phrasal verb]

1 account for (something)

1 a : to give a reason or explanation for (something)

Eventually, you will need to account for your actions/behavior.

How do you account for [=explain] your success?

◇ The informal saying there's no accounting for taste means that there is no way to understand why some people like something while other people do not.

I don't see why they liked the movie, but there's no accounting for taste.

1 b : to be the cause of (something)

The disease accounted for over 10,000 deaths last year.

These new features account for the computer's higher price.

The disease cannot be accounted for [=explained] by genetics alone. There must be other causes as well.

1 c : to make up or form (a part of something)

Women account for [=constitute, compose] only 25 percent of our employees.

1 d US : to think about (something) before doing something : to take (something) into consideration

The researchers failed to account for the fact that most of the students were poor.

2 account for (someone or something)

2 a : to show what happened to (someone or something)

We have to account for the time [=to say how much time] we spend on each activity.

I'll have to account for the money I spent.

: to know the location of (someone or something)

The government couldn't account for millions of dollars of the taxpayers' money.

Is everyone accounted for? [=do we know where everyone is?]

All present and accounted for. [=everyone who is supposed to be here is here]

2 b : to destroy or kill (someone or something)

Enemy fighters have accounted for most of our bombers, Sir.

also chiefly Brit : to defeat or beat (someone or something)

We accounted for [=dispatched] the challengers 3‒2.

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Main Entry: ↑account