account

noun

ac·count | \ ə-ˈkau̇nt

Definition of account

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a record of debit (see debit entry 2 sense 1a) and credit (see credit entry 1 sense 2d) entries to cover transactions involving a particular item or a particular person or concern

b : a statement of transactions during a fiscal period and the resulting balance

c archaic : reckoning, computation

2a : a statement explaining one's conduct She was asked to give an account of her actions.

b : a statement or exposition of reasons, causes, or motives no satisfactory account of these phenomena

c : a reason for an action : basis On that account I must refuse.

3a(1) : a formal business arrangement providing for regular dealings or services (such as banking, advertising, or store credit) and involving the establishment and maintenance of an account a checking account also : client, customer They are one of our most important accounts.

(2) : money deposited in a bank account and subject to withdrawal by the depositor

b : an arrangement in which a person uses the Internet or e-mail services of a particular company

4a : value, importance It's of no account to me.

b : esteem stood high in their account

5 : advantage turned her wit to good account

6a : careful thought : consideration have to take many things into account

b : a usually mental record : track Keep account of all you do.

7 : a description of facts, conditions, or events : report, narrative the newspaper account of the fire By all accounts they're well-off. also : performance a straightforward account of the sonata

give a good account of oneself

: to perform well especially in a competition or confrontation : to acquit oneself well Though he has an aristocratic bearing, he could probably give a good account of himself in a street fight.— Ishmael Reed

on account

: with the price charged to one's account purchasing on acccount

on account of

: for the sake of : because of The game was cancelled on account of rain.

on no account

: under no circumstances On no account should the children be left alone at home.

on one's own account

1 : on one's own behalf I'm doing it on my own account, not for anyone else.

2 : at one's own risk

3 : by oneself : on one's own

account

verb

accounted; accounting; accounts

Definition of account (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to furnish a justifying analysis or explanation —used with for couldn't account for the loss

2a : to be the sole or primary factor —used with for The left fielder accounted for all three putouts.

b : to bring about the capture, death, or destruction of something —used with for Enemy fighters accounted for two of the bombers.

transitive verb

1 : to think of as : consider accounts himself lucky

2 : to probe into : analyze

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about account

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of account in a Sentence

Noun

the difference between the debit and credit sides of an account We always keep very good accounts. We opened new accounts at a bank last week. I took out my money and closed my account. You can withdraw up to $1,000 a day from your account. Every week, she puts a part of her paycheck into a separate account. setting up a bank account

Verb

account themselves lucky to be alive

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Just the thought of being able to relive Beyoncé's epic Coachella performance (including that cute moment with Solange) has me ready to to stop playing around and finally get my own Netflix account instead of leeching off of someone else. — Ineye Komonibo, Marie Claire, "Is Beyoncé Working on New Music?," 3 Apr. 2019 Taurus’s planetary ruler, Venus, enters Aries the same day, bringing some help to your bank account. — Randon Rosenbohm, Allure, "What April’s Pisces Horoscope Means for You," 31 Mar. 2019 His statement provoked outrage and was widely condemned, and according to Ward’s account, Trump’s then-chief economic advisor Gary Cohn was ready to resign on principle. — Emma Dibdin, Town & Country, "Does Ivanka Trump Really Want to Be President Someday?," 19 Mar. 2019 In his Facebook post responding to the allegations, Tyson denied Amet’s account. — Anna North, Vox, "The sexual misconduct allegations against Neil deGrasse Tyson, explained," 15 Mar. 2019 The answer is February 1, according to the show’s Twitter account. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Is 'Last Man Standing' on Tonight?," 25 Jan. 2019 Pick a few that seem doable, and keep some extra money comfortably tucked away into your bank account. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Woman's Day, "9 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Save Money This Weekend," 14 Nov. 2018 The parents to one-year-old Stormi Webster were seen swaying in each other's arms before a party attendee started embarrassing them on camera, according to a clip posted by fan account @kimkardsahiansnap. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kylie Jenner Wears a Sexy Gold Two-Piece Look to Kourtney Kardashian's Birthday," 19 Apr. 2019 Here, three things that stood out from the insider's account. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "How Prince Harry Served in Afghanistan in Secret—Despite the Notoriously Cutthroat U.K. Press," 19 Apr. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

That's probably down to the fact that his new sister-in-law is none other than GoT star Sophie Turner, who was also present and accounted for with her new husband (!!), Joe Jonas on Monday night. — Allie Gemmill, Teen Vogue, "Nick Jonas Compared His Met Gala 2019 Look to a Dead "Game of Thrones" Character and Sophie Turner A.K.A. Sansa Stark Wasn't Pleased," 7 May 2019 Books of all kinds have been popping up on celebrity Instagram accounts lately, mostly as stylish props. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "Somehow Kim Kardashian West Makes Writer’s Block Look Sexy," 3 May 2019 Foreign regulators including those in Europe and China will then do their own reviews — significant because foreign airlines account for about 85% of Max orders, according to analysts for financial services firm Cowen. — David Koenig, The Seattle Times, "Southwest doesn’t plan to use Boeing Max jets until August," 14 Apr. 2019 Access to many of these features required connecting users’ Facebook accounts with the applications and Web services. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "Facebook “partner” arrangements: Are they as bad as they look?," 19 Dec. 2018 To account for this, Dr. Engel measured as many as 20 different chemicals that could travel together in different products. — Tabor Wordelman, Teen Vogue, "These Are the Ways Plastics Can Mess Up Your Body," 19 Dec. 2018 Or try to account for how completely computers have transformed the daily duties of clerical and back-office workers. — Evan Horowitz, BostonGlobe.com, "Work is getting better, especially for women," 14 July 2018 Every seamstress needed extra fabric to account for a mistaken measurement — and adding that tidbit made for loyal customers. — Fabiola Santiago, miamiherald, "South Miami-Dade leaders are right: If they settle for buses, they’ll never get rail," 6 July 2018 With Golden Tate and Marvin Jones locked as the top two receivers in Detroit, likely to account for about 230 targets, just how much opportunity will the second-year receiver out of Northern Illinois have? — Michael Beller, SI.com, "Fantasy Football 2018 Sleepers: Why You Shouldn’t Overlook Eli Manning," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'account.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for account

Noun

Middle English acounte, accompt, borrowed from Anglo-French acunte, acounte, noun derivative of acunter "to account entry 2"

Verb

Middle English accounten, acounten, accompten "to count, compute, evaluate, give an account of," borrowed from Anglo-French acunter, acompter, from a-, prefix forming transitive verbs (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + cunter, compter "to count entry 1"

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about account

Dictionary Entries near account

Statistics for account

Last Updated

12 May 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for account

The first known use of account was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for account

on account

noun

Financial Definition of on account

What It Is

On account is a term that describes situations in which a customer makes a partial payment for goods or services purchased.

How It Works

In the business world, buying things on account is the same as creating accounts payable. For example, let's assume that Company XYZ orders $1 million in widget parts from its supplier.

Company XYZ pays the supplier $100,000 and puts the other $900,000 on account. This basically means it will pay the rest later -- let's say in 60 days.

Why It Matters

Buying things on account is similar to saying, "put it on my tab." Eventually, however, you have to pay the tab. In our example, the transaction requires careful accounting. Once Company XYZ places its order and/or receives the parts, it will increase its inventory account by $1 million, decrease its cash by $100,000, and increase its accounts payable by $900,000. When 60 days has passed and Company XYZ pays the invoice, it will reduce cash by $900,000 and reduce its accounts payable by $900,000.

Technically, any kind of installment loan (such as your mortgage or car loan) is akin to putting something on account. In the business world, putting things on account usually creates accounts payable (or A/P). A/P is a liability, and as such, it appears on the balance sheet.

In turn, when accounts payable go down, this is considered a use of cash on the company's cash flow statement, and as such, it reduces the company's working capital (defined as current assets minus current liabilities). When accounts payable goes up, this is considered a source of cash on the company's cash flow statement because the company is "stretching out" the time it takes to pay its invoices and thus not using cash as quickly.

Source: Investing Answers

account

noun

English Language Learners Definition of account

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a record of money that has been paid and money that has been received

: records of income and expenses

: an arrangement in which a bank keeps a record of the money that a person puts in and takes out of the bank

account

verb

English Language Learners Definition of account (Entry 2 of 2)

formal : to think of (someone or something) in a specified way

See the full definition for account in the English Language Learners Dictionary

account

noun

ac·count | \ ə-ˈkau̇nt\

Kids Definition of account

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a record of money received and money paid out

2 : an arrangement with a bank to hold money and keep records of transactions

3 : an arrangement for regular dealings with a business

4 : an arrangement in which a person uses the Internet or e-mail services of a particular company

5 : a statement of explanation or of reasons or causes You'll be asked to give an account of your actions.

6 : a statement of facts or events : report Give me an account of the game.

7 : worth entry 2 sense 1, importance It's of no account to them what I think.

on account of

: because of We cancelled on account of the rain.

on someone's account

: because of someone Don't stay on my account.

account

verb

accounted; accounting

Kids Definition of account (Entry 2 of 2)

: to think of as He accounted himself lucky.

account for

1 : to take into consideration She didn't account for extra costs.

2 : to give an explanation How do you account for your success?

3 : to be the cause of The flu accounts for many absences.

4 : to make up or form Women account for half the employees.

Keep scrolling for more

account

noun

ac·count

Legal Definition of account

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a record of debit and credit entries to cover transactions involving a particular item (as cash or notes receivable) or a particular person or concern

b : a statement of transactions during a fiscal period showing the resulting balance —sometimes used in the pl. trustees filed annual accounts as required by statute— W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.

2 : a periodically rendered reckoning (as one listing charged purchases and credits)

3 : a sum of money or its equivalent deposited in the common cash of a bank and subject to withdrawal at the option of the depositor

4 : a right under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code to payment for goods or services which is not contained in an instrument or chattel paper and that may or may not have been earned by performance