Definitions for: Account


[n] the quality of taking advantage; "she turned her writing skills to good account"
[n] importance or value; "a person of considerable account"; "he predicted that although it is of small account now it will rapidly increase in importance"
[n] a record or narrative description of past events; "a history of France"; "he gave an inaccurate account of the plot to kill the president"; "the story of exposure to lead"
[n] a statement of money owed for goods or services; "he paid his bill and left"; "send me an account of what I owe"
[n] a short account of the news; "the report of his speech"; "the story was on the 11 o'clock news"; "the account of his speech that was given on the evening news made the governor furious"
[n] a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.; "the explanation was very simple"; "I expected a brief account"
[n] the act of informing by verbal report; "he heard reports that they were causing trouble"; "by all accounts they were a happy couple"
[n] grounds; "don't do it on my account"; "the paper was rejected on account of its length"; "he tried to blame the victim but his success on that score was doubtful"
[n] a statement of recent transactions and the resulting balance; "they send me an accounting every month"
[n] a formal contractual relationship established to provide for regular banking or brokerage or business services; "he asked to see the executive who handled his account"
[v] furnish a justifying analysis or explanation; "I can't account for the missing money"
[v] to give an account or representation of in words; "Discreet Italian police described it in a manner typically continental."
[v] keep an account of
[v] be the sole or primary factor in the existence, acquisition, supply, or disposal of something; "Passing grades account for half of the grades given in this exam"



Webster (1913) Definition: Ac*count", n. [OE. acount, account, accompt, OF.
acont, fr. aconter. See Account, v. t., Count, n., 1.]
1. A reckoning; computation; calculation; enumeration; a
record of some reckoning; as, the Julian account of time.

A beggarly account of empty boxes. --Shak.

2. A registry of pecuniary transactions; a written or printed
statement of business dealings or debts and credits, and
also of other things subjected to a reckoning or review;
as, to keep one's account at the bank.

3. A statement in general of reasons, causes, grounds, etc.,
explanatory of some event; as, no satisfactory account has
been given of these phenomena. Hence, the word is often
used simply for reason, ground, consideration, motive,
etc.; as, on no account, on every account, on all
accounts.

4. A statement of facts or occurrences; recital of
transactions; a relation or narrative; a report; a
description; as, an account of a battle. ``A laudable
account of the city of London.'' --Howell.

5. A statement and explanation or vindication of one's
conduct with reference to judgment thereon.

Give an account of thy stewardship. --Luke xvi. 2.

6. An estimate or estimation; valuation; judgment. ``To stand
high in your account.'' --Shak.

7. Importance; worth; value; advantage; profit. ``Men of
account.'' --Pope. ``To turn to account.'' --Shak.

Account current, a running or continued account between two
or more parties, or a statement of the particulars of such
an account.

In account with, in a relation requiring an account to be
kept.

On account of, for the sake of; by reason of; because of.


On one's own account, for one's own interest or behalf.

To make account, to have an opinion or expectation; to
reckon. [Obs.]

This other part . . . makes account to find no
slender arguments for this assertion out of those
very scriptures which are commonly urged against it.
--Milton.

To make account of, to hold in estimation; to esteem; as,
he makes small account of beauty.

To take account of, or to take into account, to take into
consideration; to notice. ``Of their doings, God takes no
account.'' --Milton
.

A writ of account (Law), a writ which the plaintiff brings
demanding that the defendant shall render his just
account, or show good cause to the contrary; -- called
also an action of account. --Cowell.

Syn: Narrative; narration; relation; recital; description;
explanation; rehearsal.

Usage: Account, Narrative, Narration, Recital. These
words are applied to different modes of rehearsing a
series of events. Account turns attention not so
much to the speaker as to the fact related, and more
properly applies to the report of some single event,
or a group of incidents taken as whole; as, an
account of a battle, of a shipwreck, etc. A
narrative is a continuous story of connected
incidents, such as one friend might tell to another;
as, a narrative of the events of a siege, a
narrative of one's life, etc. Narration is usually
the same as narrative, but is sometimes used to
describe the mode of relating events; as, his powers
of narration are uncommonly great. Recital denotes
a series of events drawn out into minute particulars,
usually expressing something which peculiarly
interests the feelings of the speaker; as, the
recital of one's wrongs, disappointments,
sufferings, etc.


Ac*count", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accounted; p. pr. &
vb. n. Accounting.] [OE. acounten, accompten, OF. aconter,
[`a] (L. ad) + conter to count. F. conter to tell, compter to
count, L. computare. See Count, v. t.]
1. To reckon; to compute; to count. [Obs.]

The motion of . . . the sun whereby years are
accounted. --Sir T.
Browne.

2. To place to one's account; to put to the credit of; to
assign; -- with to. [R.] --Clarendon.

3. To value, estimate, or hold in opinion; to judge or
consider; to deem.

Accounting that God was able to raise him up. --Heb.
xi. 19.

4. To recount; to relate. [Obs.] --Chaucer.


Ac*count", v. i.
1. To render or receive an account or relation of
particulars; as, an officer must account with or to the
treasurer for money received.

2. To render an account; to answer in judgment; -- with for;
as, we must account for the use of our opportunities.

3. To give a satisfactory reason; to tell the cause of; to
explain; -- with for; as, idleness accounts for poverty.

To account of, to esteem; to prize; to value. Now used only
in the passive. ``I account of her beauty.'' --Shak.

Newer was preaching more accounted of than in the
sixteenth century. --Canon
Robinson.

Synonyms: account statement, accounting, answer for, bill, business relationship, calculate, chronicle, describe, explanation, history, invoice, news report, report, report, score, story, write up

See Also: accounting, ancient history, anecdote, annals, balance, balance, bank account, be, bill, biography, brokerage account, bulletin, capital account, case history, charge, check, chit, chronological record, comment, communique, compound, credit, debit, debriefing, declare, definition, derivation, deriving, despatch, direct discourse, direct quotation, dispatch, doctor's bill, electric bill, etymologizing, etymology, exclusive, expense account, explication, exposition, financial statement, financial statement, gain, gloss, gossip, ground, historical document, historical paper, historical record, hotel bill, importance, indirect discourse, inform, informing, interpretation, justification, life, life history, life story, making known, medical bill, narration, news, newsletter, newssheet, overbalance, phone bill, profit, profit and loss, profit and loss account, reason, reason, recital, reckoning, record, relationship, rubric, scoop, scuttlebutt, short account, simplification, statement, statement, summarisation, summarization, suspense account, tab, tally, tax bill, telephone bill, travel and entertainment account, yarn

 Try our:
Scrabble Word Finder

Scrabble Cheat

Words With Friends Cheat

Hanging With Friends Cheat

Scramble With Friends Cheat

Ruzzle Cheat



Related Resources:
animals beginning with g
animals begin with q
v letter animals