Account

/əˈkaʊnt/ noun, verb

noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A registry of pecuniary transactions; a written or printed statement of business dealings or debts and credits, and also of other things subjected to a reckoning or review.
  • Grammar: account is listed as noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: explanation, report, a reckoning of, acc.
  • Useful contrasts: confuse, fabrication, fiction.
  • Usage evidence: I do not have an account in these forums.

How to use "account"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "account" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "account" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "account" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "account" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "account" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "explanation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "account", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A registry of pecuniary transactions; a written or printed statement of business dealings or debts and credits, and also of other things subjected to a reckoning or review.

    "The firm failed to file its accounts on time."

  2. 2
    the quality of taking advantage wordnet
  3. 3
    A bank account.

    "The money was refunded to her account."

  4. 4
    importance or value wordnet
  5. 5
    A statement in general of reasons, causes, grounds, etc., explanatory of some event; a reason of an action to be done.

    "Becoming more aware of the progress that scientists have made on behavioral fronts can reduce the risk that other natural scientists will resort to mystical agential accounts when they exceed the limits of their own disciplinary training."

Show 15 more definitions
  1. 6
    a record or narrative description of past events wordnet
  2. 7
    A reason, grounds, consideration, motive; a person's sake.

    "Don't trouble yourself on my account."

  3. 8
    an itemized statement of money owed for goods shipped or services rendered wordnet
  4. 9
    A record of events; a relation or narrative.

    "An account of a battle."

  5. 10
    a short account of the news wordnet
  6. 11
    An estimate or estimation; valuation; judgment.

    "To stand high in your account"

  7. 12
    a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc. wordnet
  8. 13
    Importance; worth; value; esteem; judgement.

    "There is a peculiarity in Homers manner of apoſtrophizing Eumæus, and ſpeaking of him in the ſecond perſon; it is generally apply'd by that Poet only to men of account' and diſtinction, and by it the Poet, as it were, addreſſes them with reſpect; […]"

  9. 14
    the act of informing by verbal report wordnet
  10. 15
    Authorization as a specific registered user in accessing a system.

    "Since the system outage, I've been unable to log in to my account."

  11. 16
    grounds wordnet
  12. 17
    A reckoning; computation; calculation; enumeration; a record of some reckoning. archaic

    "It seems that this severity weakened his frame, for three years syne come Martinmas he was taken ill with a fever of the bowels, and after a week's sickness he went to his account, where I trust he is accepted."

  13. 18
    a statement of recent transactions and the resulting balance wordnet
  14. 19
    Profit; advantage. uncountable

    "The young man soon turned his woodworking skills to some account."

  15. 20
    a formal contractual relationship established to provide for regular banking or brokerage or business services wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To provide explanation.; To present an account of; to answer for, to justify. obsolete, transitive
  2. 2
    furnish a justifying analysis or explanation wordnet
  3. 3
    To provide explanation.; To give an account of financial transactions, money received etc. archaic, intransitive
  4. 4
    to give an account or representation of in words wordnet
  5. 5
    To provide explanation.; To estimate, consider (something to be as described). transitive

    "The Pagan Hercules, why was he accounted a hero?"

Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    keep an account of wordnet
  2. 7
    To provide explanation.; To consider that. intransitive

    "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure."

  3. 8
    be the sole or primary factor in the existence, acquisition, supply, or disposal of something wordnet
  4. 9
    To provide explanation.; To give a satisfactory evaluation for financial transactions, money received etc. intransitive

    "An officer must account with or to the treasurer for money received."

  5. 10
    To provide explanation.; To give a satisfactory evaluation for (one's actions, behaviour etc.); to answer for. intransitive

    "We must account for the use of our opportunities."

  6. 11
    To provide explanation.; To give a satisfactory reason for; to explain. intransitive

    "Idleness accounts for poverty."

  7. 12
    To provide explanation.; To establish the location for someone. intransitive

    "After the crash, not all passengers were accounted for."

  8. 13
    To provide explanation.; To cause the death, capture, or destruction of someone or something (+ for). intransitive

    "Desperately bold at last, the persecuted animals bolted above-ground—the terrier accounted for one, the keeper for another; Rawdon, from flurry and excitement, missed his rat, but on the other hand he half-murdered a ferret."

  9. 14
    To count.; To calculate, work out (especially with periods of time). archaic, transitive

    "neither the motion of the Moon, whereby moneths are computed; nor of the Sun, whereby years are accounted, consisteth of whole numbers, but admits of fractions, and broken parts, as we have already declared concerning the Moon."

  10. 15
    To count.; To count (up), enumerate. obsolete
  11. 16
    To count.; To recount, relate (a narrative etc.). obsolete

    "Long worke it were / Here to account the endlesse progeny / Of all the weeds that bud and blossome there [...]."

  12. 17
    Used in phrasal verbs: account for, account of, account to.

Synonyms

All synonyms
explanationreporta reckoning ofaccaccount currentaccount for

Example

"I do not have an account in these forums."

Common questions

What does "account" mean?

A registry of pecuniary transactions; a written or printed statement of business dealings or debts and credits, and also of other things subjected to a reckoning or review.

What is a synonym for "account"?

Common synonyms include: explanation, report, a reckoning of, acc, account current, account for.

How do you use "account" in a sentence?

I do not have an account in these forums.

How do you pronounce "account"?

Pronounced /əˈkaʊnt/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English acounte, from Anglo-Norman acunte (“account”), from Old French aconte, from aconter (“to reckon”), from Latin computō (“to sum up”).

Etymology 2

From Old French acounter, accomptere et al., from a- + conter (“to count”)). Compare count.

More for "account"

Synonyms

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