1
general::
account for sth
to form the total of something
• Students account for the vast majority of our customers., account (to sb ) for sth
to explain the reason for something or the cause of something
• Can you account for your absence last Friday?
• She was unable to account for over $5 000 (= she could not explain where the money was).
• He has to account to his manager for (= tell his manager about and explain) all his movements.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
noun description ADJ. brief, short | blow-by-blow, comprehensive, detailed, full, graphic, vivid He gave us a blow-by-blow account of the incident. | accurate, clear, eyewitness, factual, first-hand, true, verbatim | glowing, good She received a glowing account of her son's progress. | newspaper the newspaper account of the trial VERB + ACCOUNT give (sb), provide (sb with), write (sb) Can you give us an account of what happened? PREP. in an/the ~ Dr Richards describes this very well in his account of the events. PHRASES by all accounts (= according to what people say) I've never been there, but it's a lovely place by all accounts. | by sb's own account By his own account he had an unhappy childhood. arrangement with a bank ADJ. bank, building society | current | deposit, investment, savings | personal | business | joint, separate My husband and I have separate accounts. | numbered They have a numbered account in Switzerland. VERB + ACCOUNT have, hold Go and see the manager of the bank where your account is held. | open She opened a savings account at the building society. | close | credit sth to, pay/put sth into The money will be credited to your account tomorrow. | debit (sth from), draw sth out (of), pay sth from, take sth out (of), withdraw sth (from) She had taken all her money out of her account. | overdraw Your account is overdrawn. PREP. ~ at He opened an account at a bank in Germany. | ~ with an account with Barclays Bank accounts: record of money a business earns/spends VERB + ACCOUNT do, keep Try to keep accurate accounts. | audit, check, look at | submit Your accounts will need to be submitted to the tax office. ACCOUNT + VERB be in order The accounts are all in order.BUSINESS arrangement with a shop/business ADJ. expense (= an arrangement to charge expenses to your own employers) taking clients for expense account lunches VERB + ACCOUNT have | open I'd like to open an account, please. | close | pay off, settle It is best to settle the account each month. | charge sth to, debit (sth from), put sth on Charge this to my account, please. | credit sth to PREP. on ~ Ring for a cab on account. | ~ at/with an account with a large store, verb PHRASAL VERBS account for sth ADV. fully The increase can be fully accounted for. | partly The differences in achievement between the pupils are partly accounted for by differences in age.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
account
verbs
give an account
• Marshall gave the police his account of how the fight started.
provide an account
• Freud has provided an account of the human psyche’s stages of development.
write an account
• He later wrote an account of his experiences during the war.
read an account
• Have you read his account of the journey?
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + account
a detailed account
• She gave me a detailed account of what happened at the meeting.
a full account
• It is not possible to give a full account of what we discussed.
a short account
• What follows is a short account of the legal procedure.
a brief account
• The class were asked to write a brief account of their holidays.
a clear account
• I’ve tried to write a clear account of the incident.
an accurate account
• Both newspapers gave fairly accurate accounts of what had happened.
a true account
• The book is a true account of his life and death.
a blow-by-blow account
(= very detailed )
• Rosemary gave me a blow-by-blow account of their trip.
a graphic account
(= very clear with a lot of details, especially unpleasant details )
• He wrote a graphic account of his time in jail.
a vivid account
(= so clear that it seems real or like real life )
• I read a vivid account of his experiences in Egypt.
an eye-witness account
(= an account of an event, given by the person who saw it happen )
• an eye-witness account of the attack
a first-hand account
(= an account of a situation, given by the person who experienced it )
• a first-hand account of life in the refugee camps
conflicting accounts
(= different accounts of the same event, that cannot both be true )
• There were conflicting accounts of what actually happened.
transnet.ir
4
general::
In addition to the idiom beginning with ACCOUNT, Also see ALL PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR; BY ALL ACCOUNTS; CALL TO ACCOUNT; GIVE A GOOD ACCOUNT; NO ACCOUNTING FOR TASTES; ON ACCOUNT OF; ON NO ACCOUNT; ON ONE'S OWN ACCOUNT; ON SOMEONE'S ACCOUNT; TAKE ACCOUNT OF; TAKE INTO ACCOUNT; TURN TO GOOD ACCOUNT.
American Heritage Idioms
6
general::
account
a written or spoken description that says what happens in an event or process:
• He provided the police with a detailed account of what he saw.
description
something you say or write that gives details about what something or someone is like:
• The report gave a brief description of the problem.
story
an account of something that has happened which may not be true – used especially when people are telling each other about something:
• I don’t think he was honest enough to tell us the full story. • Her parents did not believe her story.
report
a written or spoken account of a situation or event, giving people the information they need, especially after studying something as part of your job:
• The UN will issue a report on the incident. • Initial police reports suggest she was murdered.
version
a particular person’s account of an event, which is different from the account that another person gives:
• Her version of events has been contradicted by other witnesses.
Longman-Thesaurus