count for

count for idiom
  1. Have importance or worth, as in Doesn't his long tenure count for anything? or Does this tournament count for computer points? This usage employs count in the sense of “enter into a reckoning.” [Mid-1800s]
  2. count for nothing. Have no influence or effect, as in All his work counts for nothing since they've dropped the project. This idiom was first recorded in 1861.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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