account for
Britishverb
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to give reasons for (an event, act, etc)
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to make or provide a reckoning of (expenditure, payments, etc)
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to be responsible for destroying, killing, or putting (people, aircraft, etc) out of action
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Be the determining factor in; cause. For example, The heat wave accounts for all this food spoilage , or Icy roads account for the increase in accidents .
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Explain or justify, as in Jane was upset because her son couldn't account for the three hours between his last class and his arrival at home . Both of these related usages are derived from the literal meaning of the phrase, that is, “make a reckoning of an account.” [Second half of 1700s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Research involving Chinese nurses reported similar associations in adults, linking regular bubble tea consumption to anxiety, depression, fatigue, job burnout, and lower overall well-being, even after accounting for other variables.
From Science Daily
Normally, the redrawing of the country’s congressional districts takes place once every 10 years, following the census and accounting for population changes over the previous decade.
From Los Angeles Times
Then my foot slipped just a little more than I could account for, and that heavy pack drove me into the dirt hard.
Dubai's airport and seaport account for about 60 percent of the emirate's revenues, official estimates show.
From Barron's
Semiconductor shipments—accounting for over a quarter of total exports—more than doubled from a year earlier to a record $25.16 billion in February, outweighing declines in auto, petrochemical and steel shipments, the data showed.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
