Account Definition

ə-kount
accounted, accounting, accounts
noun
accounts
A narrative or record of events.
American Heritage
A counting; calculation.
Webster's New World
A reason given for a particular action or event.
What is the account for this loss?
American Heritage
A record of the financial data pertaining to a specific asset, liability, income item, expense item, or net-worth item.
Webster's New World
A report relating to one's conduct.
Gave a satisfactory account of herself.
American Heritage
verb
accounted, accounting, accounts
To consider as being; deem.
American Heritage
To consider or judge to be; deem; value.
Webster's New World
To furnish a reckoning (to someone) of money received and paid out.
Webster's New World
To make satisfactory amends (for)
He will account for his crime.
Webster's New World
To give satisfactory reasons or an explanation (for)
Can he account for his actions?
Webster's New World
idiom
call to account
  • To challenge or contest.
  • To hold answerable for.
American Heritage
on account
  • On credit.
American Heritage
on account of
  • Because of; for the sake of:
American Heritage
on no account
  • Under no circumstances.
American Heritage
on (one's) own account
  • For oneself.
  • On one's own; by oneself:

    He wants to work on his own account.

American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Account

Noun

Singular:
account
Plural:
accounts

Origin of Account

  • Middle English from Old French acont from aconter to reckon a- to (from Latin ad- ad–) cunter to count (from Latin computāre to sum up compute)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman acunte (“account”), from Old French acont, from aconter (“to reckon”), from Latin computo (“to sum up”)

    From Wiktionary

  • From Anglo-Norman acounter, accomptere et al., Middle French aconter, acompter, from a- + conter (“to count”). Compare count.

    From Wiktionary

  • First attested around 1300. ((reckoning of moneys received and paid):)

    From Wiktionary

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to account using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

account