account

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noun

/əˈkaʊnt/

singular	account
plural	accounts

1
[countable] an arrangement in which a bank takes care of your money. You can deposit (=put in) or withdraw (=take out) money when you need to
There was only $50 in his bank account.
open an account:
How do I open an account (=start having an account) with your bank?
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
See also checking account, savings account
2
[countable] a written or spoken report about something that has happened
account of:
a brief account of the meeting
give an account of something:
He was too shocked to give a clear account of events.
eyewitness account (=a description of the details of an event given by someone who saw them):
an eyewitness account of a brutal beating
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
1. a.
  a detailed description of how or why something happens
  The study aims to give an account of modern attitudes toward democracy.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
Collocations: account
▪ blow-by-blow, brief, conflicting, detailed, eyewitness, first-hand, full, vivid
3
[countable] an arrangement you have with a store or other business that allows you to pay for goods or services later
I have an account with Macy’s.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
1. a.
  a record showing how much you owe a store or other business for goods or services that you have received
  settle an account (=pay the money that you owe):
  I’ll settle my account in the morning.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
4
[countable] business a company that regularly buys goods or services from another company
We now have over 30 major accounts.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
5
[countable] an arrangement you have with a company or Internet provider to use a service they provide
Do you have an e-mail account?
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
6
[countable] [usually plural] a detailed record that a business keeps of the money it receives and spends in a particular period of time
The accounts showed a loss of $498 million.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
1. a.
  accounts
  [uncountable] the part of an organization that keeps records of the money it receives and spends
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account

phrases

bring/call/hold someone to account
formal
to make someone explain publicly why they made a mistake or committed a crime, especially so that they can be criticized or punished for it
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
by/from all accounts
according to what people say
She is, by all accounts, a decent young woman.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
of no account/of little account
not or not very important
The color of someone’s skin should be of no account.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
on account
1. 1
  if you buy something on account, you take it now and pay for it later
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
2. 2
  if you pay an amount of money on account, you pay part of what you owe now and you pay the rest later
  payments on account for the tax year ending in April 1999
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
on someone’s account
if you do something on someone’s account, you do it because you think they want you to
Please don’t go on my account.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
on account of
because of someone or something
She can’t work too many hours on account of the children.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
on no account/not on any account
used to say in a strong and definite way that something must not happen or be done
On no account should the soldiers be blamed for what happened.
A doctor should not, on any account, break his confidence.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
on your own account
by yourself or for yourself instead of with or for someone else
He earned thousands last year trading stock on his own account.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
on this/that account
used when giving the reason for something
She was divorced, and on that account alone my mother disliked her.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
settle an account/settle accounts
to end a disagreement or argument with someone by defeating them
They threatened to settle accounts with those who opposed them.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account
take account of something/take something into account
to consider something when you are trying to make a decision
Punitive damage awards take into account the pain and suffering caused to the victim.
If you take inflation into account, we actually spend less now.
A good transportation strategy must take account of the environmental issues.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of account

This is the American English definition of account. View British English definition of account.

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account

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accounts

phrases

bring/call/hold someone to account

by/from all accounts

of no account/of little account

on account

on someone’s account

on account of

on no account/not on any account

on your own account

on this/that account

settle an account/settle accounts

take account of something/take something into account

showmance

Word of the Day

slime

human-readable