account for (something)

phrasal verb

accounted for (something); accounting for (something); accounts for (something)

1

: to give a reason or explanation for (something)

How do you account for your success?

2

: to be the cause of (something)

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

3

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

Women account for only 25 percent of our employees.

4

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.

Examples of account for (something) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now, banks account for less than half of the lending there. —Fortune Editors, Fortune, 16 May 2024

Today, Black people account for just 6.7% of America’s public K-12 teachers, even as Black children make up more than 15% of public school students. —Andrea Guiden Pittman, The Conversation, 16 May 2024