Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

2 PHRASAL VERB If something accounts for a particular fact or situation, it causes or explains it. □ [V P n] Now, the gene they discovered today doesn't account for all those cases.

3 PHRASAL VERB If you can account for something, you can explain it or give the necessary information about it. □ [V P n] How do you account for the company's alarmingly high staff turnover? □ [be V -ed P ] He said only 200 of the train's 600 passengers had been accounted for.

4 PHRASAL VERB If someone has to account for an action or policy, they are responsible for it, and may be required to explain it to other people or be punished if it fails. □ [V P n] The President and the President alone must account for his government's reforms.

5 PHRASAL VERB If a sum of money is accounted for in a budget, it has been included in that budget for a particular purpose. □ [be V -ed P ] The really heavy redundancy costs have been accounted for. [Also V P n] COLLOCATIONS account NOUN

1

noun + account : deposit, savings

adjective + account : current, joint; offshore

verb + account : open; close

4

noun + account : eyewitness

adjective + account : detailed, first-hand, full

verb + account : give, provide SYNONYMS account NOUN 4

description:Police have issued a description of the man who was aged between fifty and sixty.

report:With a report on these developments, here's Jim Fish in Belgrade.

record:There's no record of any marriage or children.

story:The parents all shared interesting stories about their children.

version:There are widely differing versions in the newspapers about the prison siege.

ac|count|able /əkaʊ ntəb ^ə l/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you are accountable to someone for something that you do, you are responsible for it and must be prepared to justify your actions to that person. □ [+ for ] Public officials can finally be held accountable for their actions. [Also + to ] ●  ac|count|abil|ity /əkaʊ ntəb I l I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □  …an impetus towards democracy and greater accountability.

ac|count|an|cy /əkaʊ ntənsi/ N‑UNCOUNT Accountancy is the theory or practice of keeping financial accounts.

ac|count|ant /əkaʊ ntənt/ (accountants ) N‑COUNT An accountant is a person whose job is to keep financial accounts.

ac|count|ing /əkaʊ nt I ŋ/

1 N‑UNCOUNT Accounting is the activity of keeping detailed records of the amounts of money a business or person receives and spends. □  …the accounting firm of Leventhal & Horwath.

2 → see also account

ac|cou|tre|ment /əkuː trəmənt/ (accoutrements ) in AM, also use accouterment N‑COUNT [usu pl] Accoutrements are all the things you have with you when you travel or when you take part in a particular activity. [HUMOROUS or OLD-FASHIONED ]

ac|cred|it /əkre d I t/ (accredits , accrediting , accredited ) VERB [usu passive] If an educational qualification or institution is accredited , it is officially declared to be of an approved standard. [FORMAL ] □ [be V -ed] This degree programme is fully accredited by the Institution of Electrical Engineers. □ [V -ed] …an accredited college of Brunel University. ●  ac|credi|ta|tion /əkre d I te I ʃ ^ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □  This is the body responsible for the accreditation of MBA courses.

ac|cre|tion /əkriː ʃ ^ə n/ (accretions )

1 N‑COUNT An accretion is an addition to something, usually one that has been added over a period of time. [FORMAL ] □  The script has been gathering editorial accretions for years.