account

noun ac·count \ ə-ˈkau̇nt \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Definition of account

1 a : a record of debit (see ²debit 1a) and credit (see ¹credit 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

2 a : 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.

3 a (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

4 a : value, importance

It's of no account to me.

b : esteem

stood high in their account

5 : advantage

turned her wit to good account

6 a : 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

See account defined for English-language learners

See account defined for kids

Examples of account in a Sentence

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 ,000 a day from your account.
Every week, she puts a part of her paycheck into a separate account.
setting up a bank account

Recent Examples of account from the Web

The official White House Twitter account attacked two Democratic senators who have been critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

— alix langone, Time, "The Official White House Twitter Account Attacked Senators Who Have Been Critical of ICE," 4 July 2018
The plague moved swiftly and horribly; some contemporary accounts describe people who were healthy at sunrise and dead by sunset.

— anne thériault, Longreads, "Queens of Infamy: Joanna of Naples," 3 July 2018
The White House Twitter account represents another radical shift in the Trump administration that changes the course of conduct in the national dialogue.

— julyssa lopez, Glamour, "The Official White House Twitter Account Just Went After Two Women Senators," 3 July 2018
After requiring the client to pay a $2,400 nonrefundable retainer fee, Starr transferred funds out of the client’s bank account without permission and never submitted the loan modification to the mortgage lender, the court said.

— rafael olmeda, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Two Broward lawyers disciplined by Supreme Court," 2 July 2018
The bank said that an internal review found problems with some credit-card accounts and regulators were promptly informed.

— jesse hamilton, BostonGlobe.com, "Citigroup will repay $335 million to customers in settlement," 29 June 2018
According to some accounts, it was invented in Wickenburg.

— dustin gardiner, azcentral, "10 Arizona laws that actually exist: Private armies, food-wasting ban, windshield repairs," 27 June 2018
Unfortunately, the book gets bogged down in her bitter conflicts with her RISD teachers and classmates; these accounts start to feel more like score-settling than like necessary propellers of the narrative.

— barbara spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, "'And Then We Danced,' 'Old in Art School,' tell of later-in-life creative endeavors," 21 June 2018
Barrera Rodríguez says some historical accounts record cases of captive warriors living with the families of their captors for months or years before being sacrificed.

— lizzie wade, Science | AAAS, "Feeding the gods: Hundreds of skulls reveal massive scale of human sacrifice in Aztec capital," 21 June 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.

Origin and Etymology of account

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1c

See Words from the same year

account Synonyms

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

account

verb

Definition of account

accounted; accounting; accounts

intransitive verb

1 : to furnish a justifying analysis or explanation —used with for

couldn't account for the loss

2 a : 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

See account defined for English-language learners

Examples of account in a Sentence

account themselves lucky to be alive

Recent Examples of account from the Web

The energy plan calls for further development of renewable energy but still stipulates that nuclear energy should account for 20 to 22 percent of Japan’s power generation by fiscal 2030.

— mari yamaguchi, The Seattle Times, "Japan OKs ambitious nuke energy goals, plutonium reuse plan," 3 July 2018
Baker administration officials had sought to exclude certain specialty medications from Medicaid coverage, noting that just 30 high-cost drugs account for more than $600 million in annual spending.

— BostonGlobe.com, "The week in business," 30 June 2018
So big has the sector become that government spending on outsourcing now accounts for about 11% of GDP.

— The Economist, "Britain’s outsourcing model, copied around the world, is in trouble," 28 June 2018
The study’s authors estimate that this fact accounts for 30 to 50 percent of spending in the last year of life.

— orly nadell farber, STAT, "Are we spending too much on the dying? New research challenges this widely held view," 28 June 2018
Overall, the study suggests that deforestation probably accounted for more than half the warming that occurred over North America between 1920 and 1980.

— chelsea harvey, Scientific American, "2017 Was a Really Bad Year for Tropical Forests," 28 June 2018
The unfortunate reality is that under the present system migrant children are not accounted for with the same efficiency and accuracy as property.

— kristina davis, latimes.com, "California federal judge orders separated children reunited with parents within 30 days," 27 June 2018
The unfortunate reality is that under the present system, migrant children are not accounted for with the same efficiency and accuracy as property.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Judge Orders Trump Administration to Reunite Migrant Families Within 30 Days," 27 June 2018
In fact, Tanya Loos at Cosmos reports that dolphin species accounted for 92.8 percent of the grieving behaviors.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Study Suggests Dolphins and Some Whales Grieve Their Dead," 20 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of account

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 ¹count"

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

account Synonyms

Synonyms

call, consider, count, esteem, hold, look (on or upon), rate, reckon, regard, set down, view;

Related Words

believe, deem, feel, sense, think;

conceive, fancy, imagine;

Phrases

take for;

Financial Definition of ACCOUNT

on account

noun

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 Defined for English Language Learners

account

noun

Definition of account for English Language Learners

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

Definition of account for English Language Learners

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

ACCOUNT Defined for Kids

account

noun ac·count \ ə-ˈkau̇nt \

Definition of account for Students

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 : ²worth 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

Definition of account for Students

accounted; accounting

: 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.

Law Dictionary

account

noun ac·count

legal Definition of account

1 a : 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