1
a
: 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
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)
(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 email 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
factoring all of these issues into account
see also take account of
b
: a usually mental record : track
Keep account of all you do.
accounted; accounting; accounts
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.
Phrases
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
Ishmael Reed
: with the price charged to one's account
purchasing on account
: for the sake of : because of
The game was cancelled on account of rain.
: under no circumstances
On no account should the children be left alone at home.
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
Synonyms
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
See More
Recent Examples on the WebL.a. Hubilla, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2023
The company will sign each member sequentially, taking into account their military service.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2023
The money was being transferred to an account in Qatar, and the Biden administration has said the U.S. will monitor the Qatar account and restrict the use of funds for humanitarian purposes.
—Analisa Novak, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2023
This hacking comes just weeks after the elder Trump’s X account was restored following his arrest in Fulton County, Ga.
—William Earl, Variety, 20 Sep. 2023
The outlet reported that Minhaj said the account was inspired by an interaction with his wife instead.
—Brahmjot Kaur, NBC News, 20 Sep. 2023
See the first photos of baby Riot Rose on Diggzy’s Instagram account.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 19 Sep. 2023
Non-adherence to treatments takes a tragic toll–one that has been well-studied by researchers, who estimate non-adherence accounts for roughly $495 billion in additional medical spending every year–and causes more than 275,000 premature deaths.
—Howard Dean, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2023
Epic’s agreement with the FTC also prohibits the company from using dark patterns or charging consumers without their consent, and forbids Epic from locking players out of their accounts in response to users’ chargeback requests with credit card companies disputing unwanted charges.
—Clare Duffy, CNN, 19 Sep. 2023
WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
The recent jump in prices in California, which accounts for one-tenth of U.S. gasoline consumption according to the Energy Information Administration, is partly a result of the maintenance of refineries.
—Santul Nerkar, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2023
The line accounted for $1.5 billion of Ye’s net worth, Forbes estimated.
—Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023
Exports increased to five of the industry’s six main markets, which account for 55.4 percent of the total market.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 19 Sep. 2023
The company was able to become profitable in 2022, thanks in part to a boost in revenue from advertising, which now accounts for nearly a third of the company’s total revenue.
—Ryan Gould, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2023
Streaming revenue made up 84% of total recorded music revenues in the U.S., growing 10.3% to $7.0 billion — the fourth consecutive year that streaming accounted for 83-84% of total revenue.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 18 Sep. 2023
Popular Instagram account Zillow Gone Wild is expanding into its own show.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 18 Sep. 2023
But that may not shield her in a place where the tourism industry accounts for 75% of private sector jobs.
—Audrey McAvoy and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Sep. 2023
See More
Noun
Another major part of the setup during testing was creating and logging into accounts to download various apps.
—L.a. Hubilla, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2023
The company will sign each member sequentially, taking into account their military service.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2023
The money was being transferred to an account in Qatar, and the Biden administration has said the U.S. will monitor the Qatar account and restrict the use of funds for humanitarian purposes.
—Analisa Novak, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2023
This hacking comes just weeks after the elder Trump’s X account was restored following his arrest in Fulton County, Ga.
—William Earl, Variety, 20 Sep. 2023
The outlet reported that Minhaj said the account was inspired by an interaction with his wife instead.
—Brahmjot Kaur, NBC News, 20 Sep. 2023
See the first photos of baby Riot Rose on Diggzy’s Instagram account.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 19 Sep. 2023
Non-adherence to treatments takes a tragic toll–one that has been well-studied by researchers, who estimate non-adherence accounts for roughly $495 billion in additional medical spending every year–and causes more than 275,000 premature deaths.
—Howard Dean, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2023
Epic’s agreement with the FTC also prohibits the company from using dark patterns or charging consumers without their consent, and forbids Epic from locking players out of their accounts in response to users’ chargeback requests with credit card companies disputing unwanted charges.
—Clare Duffy, CNN, 19 Sep. 2023
Verb
The architecture Barroso devised became the basis for Google’s cloud computing unit, which now accounts for about 10 percent of the company’s overall revenue.
—WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
The recent jump in prices in California, which accounts for one-tenth of U.S. gasoline consumption according to the Energy Information Administration, is partly a result of the maintenance of refineries.
—Santul Nerkar, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2023
The line accounted for $1.5 billion of Ye’s net worth, Forbes estimated.
—Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023
Exports increased to five of the industry’s six main markets, which account for 55.4 percent of the total market.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 19 Sep. 2023
The company was able to become profitable in 2022, thanks in part to a boost in revenue from advertising, which now accounts for nearly a third of the company’s total revenue.
—Ryan Gould, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2023
Streaming revenue made up 84% of total recorded music revenues in the U.S., growing 10.3% to $7.0 billion — the fourth consecutive year that streaming accounted for 83-84% of total revenue.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 18 Sep. 2023
Popular Instagram account Zillow Gone Wild is expanding into its own show.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 18 Sep. 2023
But that may not shield her in a place where the tourism industry accounts for 75% of private sector jobs.
—Audrey McAvoy and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'account.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
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"
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1c
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of account was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing account
Dictionary Entries Near account
Cite this Entry
“Account.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/account. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
account
1 of 2 noun
ac·count
ə-ˈkau̇nt 
1
: a record of money paid out and money received
2
: a statement listing purchases and credits : bill
3
a
: value entry 1 sense 3
a man of little account
b
: regard entry 1 sense 2a
held in high account
4
: profit entry 1 sense 1, advantage
labored to no account
5
a
: a statement of reasons, causes, or motives
gave an account of her actions
b
: a statement of facts
accounts of the game
c
: a reason for an action
on that account I must refuse
6
a
: a sum of money deposited in a bank
b
: an arrangement in which a person uses the Internet or e-mail services of a particular company
account
2 of 2 verb1
: to think of as
accounts herself lucky
2
: to give an explanation
have to account for the money I spent
3
: to be the cause
illness accounts for so many absences
Etymology
Noun
Middle English acount, accompt "the act or result of counting," from early French acunte (same meaning), from acunter (verb) "to add, count," from a- "to" and cunter "to count," from Latin computare "to count, compute" — related to compute, count entry 1
Legal Definition
account
1 of 2 noun
ac·count
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.
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
account
2 of 2 intransitive verb
: to give a financial account
a duty to account
More from Merriam-Webster on account
Nglish: Translation of account for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of account for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share