16 PHRASE If someone is called, held, or brought to account for something they have done wrong, they are made to explain why they did it, and are often criticized or punished for it. □ [+ for ] Ministers should be called to account for their actions.
▸ account for
1 PHRASAL VERB If a particular thing accounts for a part or proportion of something, that part or proportion consists of that thing, or is used or produced by it. □ [V P n] Computers account for 5% of the country's commercial electricity consumption.
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.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Accretion is the process of new layers or parts being added to something so that it increases in size. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] A coral reef is built by the accretion of tiny, identical organisms.
ac|cru|al /əkruː əl/ (accruals ) N‑COUNT [usu sing, oft N n] In finance, the accrual of something such as interest or investments is the adding together of interest or different investments over a period of time. [BUSINESS ]
ac|crue /əkruː / (accrues , accruing , accrued )
1 VERB If money or interest accrues or if you accrue it, it gradually increases in amount over a period of time. [BUSINESS ] □ [V -ed] I owed £5,000–part of this was accrued interest. □ [V ] If you do not pay within 28 days, interest will accrue. □ [V n] Officials say the options will offer investors a longer time in which to accrue profits.
2 VERB If things such as profits or benefits accrue to someone, they are added to over a period of time. [FORMAL ] □ [V ] …the expectation that profits will accrue. □ [V + to ] …a project from which considerable benefit will accrue to the community. [Also V n, V to n]