account
Other forms: accounts; accounted; accounting
An account can be many things — such as a story, like if you give a friend an account of what happened at the party she missed. It can also be a business arrangement, like a bank account or an email account.
Account is one of those seemingly simple words that have a mass of different meanings. An account can be a narrative or story — a biography, for example, is an account of someone's life. Account can also mean an explanation of something, as in the phrase, "How do you account for that?" An account is also a handy arrangement whereby a store agrees to provide you goods on credit, but then you might have to account for all that debt.
Definitions of account
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a record or narrative description of past events
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types:
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ancient history
a history of the ancient world
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etymology
a history of a word
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case history
detailed record of the background of a person or group under study or treatment
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historical document, historical paper, historical record
writing having historical value (as opposed to fiction or myth etc.)
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annals, chronological record
a chronological account of events in successive years
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biography, life, life history, life story
an account of the series of events making up a person's life
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recital
a detailed account or description of something
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folk etymology
a popular but erroneous etymology
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family history
part of a patient's medical history in which questions are asked in an attempt to find out whether the patient has hereditary tendencies toward particular diseases
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anamnesis, medical history, medical record
the case history of a medical patient as recalled by the patient
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autobiography
a biography of yourself
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hagiography
a biography that idealizes or idolizes the person (especially a person who is a saint)
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profile
biographical sketch
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type of:
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record
anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
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a short account of the news“the account of his speech that was given on the evening news made the governor furious”
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synonyms:
news report, report, story, write up
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types:
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newsletter, newssheet
report or open letter giving informal or confidential news of interest to a special group
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bulletin
a brief report (especially an official statement issued for immediate publication or broadcast)
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communique, despatch, dispatch
an official report (usually sent in haste)
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urban legend
a story that appears mysteriously and spreads spontaneously in various forms and is usually false; contains elements of humor or horror and is popularly believed to be true
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exclusive, scoop
a news report that is reported first by one news organization
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market letter
a newsletter written by an analyst of the stock market and sold to subscribers
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flash, news bulletin, newsbreak, newsflash
a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story
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information bulletin
a bulletin containing the latest information
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type of:
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news
information reported in a newspaper or news magazine
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the act of informing by verbal report“by all accounts they were a happy couple”
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synonyms:
report
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types:
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summarisation, summarization
the act of preparing a summary (or an instance thereof); stating briefly and succinctly
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indirect discourse
a report of a discourse in which deictic terms are modified appropriately (e.g., "he said `I am a fool' would be modified to `he said he is a fool'")
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direct discourse, direct quotation
a report of the exact words used in a discourse (e.g., "he said `I am a fool'")
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megillah
(Yiddish) a long boring tediously detailed account
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debriefing
report of a mission or task
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anecdote
short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
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narration, recital, yarn
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
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comment, gossip, scuttlebutt
a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people
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recounting, relation, telling
an act of narration
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earful
an outpouring of gossip
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hearsay, rumor, rumour
gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth
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grapevine, pipeline, word of mouth
gossip spread by spoken communication
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dirt, malicious gossip, scandal
disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
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talk, talk of the town
idle gossip or rumor
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type of:
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informing, making known
a speech act that conveys information
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a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.“I expected a brief account”
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synonyms:
explanation
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types:
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simplification
an explanation that omits superfluous details and reduces complexity
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accounting
a convincing explanation that reveals basic causes
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reason
an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon
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justification
a statement in explanation of some action or belief
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exposition
an account that sets forth the meaning or intent of a writing or discourse
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explication
a detailed explanation of the meaning of something
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gloss, rubric
an explanation or definition of an obscure word in a text
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derivation, deriving, etymologizing
(historical linguistics) an explanation of the historical origins of a word or phrase
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definition
a concise explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase or symbol
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interpretation
an explanation that results from interpreting something
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walk-through
a thorough explanation (usually accompanied by a demonstration) of each step in a procedure or process
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oversimplification, simplism
a simplification that goes too far (to the point of misrepresentation)
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cause, grounds, reason
a justification for something existing or happening
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defence, defense, vindication
the justification for some act or belief
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exposition, expounding
a systematic interpretation or explanation (usually written) of a specific topic
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construal
an interpretation of the meaning of something; the act of construing
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contextual definition
a definition in which the term is used by embedding it in a larger expression containing its explanation
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dictionary definition
a definition that reports the standard uses of a word or phrase or symbol
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explicit definition
a definition that gives an exact equivalent of the term defined
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ostensive definition
a definition that points out or exhibits instances of the term defined
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recursive definition
(mathematics) a definition of a function from which values of the function can be calculated in a finite number of steps
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redefinition
the act of giving a new definition
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stipulative definition
a definition that is stipulated by someone and that is not a standard usage
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clarification, elucidation, illumination
an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding
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eisegesis
personal interpretation of a text (especially of the Bible) using your own ideas
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exegesis
an explanation or critical interpretation (especially of the Bible)
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ijtihad
the endeavor of a Moslem scholar to derive a rule of divine law from the Koran and Hadith without relying on the views of other scholars; by the end of the 10th century theologians decided that debate on such matters would be closed and Muslim theology and law were frozen
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literal interpretation
an interpretation based on the exact wording
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version
an interpretation of a matter from a particular viewpoint
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reading
a particular interpretation or performance
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construction, twist
an interpretation of a text or action
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reconstruction
an interpretation formed by piecing together bits of evidence
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popularisation, popularization
an interpretation that easily understandable and acceptable
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misinterpretation, mistaking, misunderstanding
putting the wrong interpretation on
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type of:
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statement
a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc
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give an account or representation of in words
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be the sole or primary factor in the existence, acquisition, supply, or disposal of something“Passing grades account for half of the grades given in this exam”
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type of:
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be
have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
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be
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furnish a justifying analysis or explanation“I can't account for the missing money”
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synonyms:
answer for
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type of:
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declare
state emphatically and authoritatively
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declare
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a formal contractual relationship established to provide for regular banking or brokerage or business services“he asked to see the executive who handled his account”
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synonyms:
business relationship
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types:
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brokerage account
a fund that a customer has entrusted to a securities brokerage
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bank account
a fund that a customer has entrusted to a bank and from which the customer can make withdrawals
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short account
a brokerage account of someone who sells short (sells securities he does not own)
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cash account
an account with a securities brokerage whose transactions are settled on a cash basis
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margin account
an account with a securities brokerage in which the broker extends credit
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giro account
an account at a post office that can be used in similar ways to an account at a bank
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checking account, chequing account, current account
a bank account against which the depositor can draw checks that are payable on demand
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savings account
a bank account that accumulates interest
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type of:
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relationship
a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties or countries
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a statement of recent transactions and the resulting balance“they send me an accounting every month”
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synonyms:
account statement, accounting
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types:
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capital account
(finance) an account of the net value of a business at a specified date
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capital account
(economics) that part of the balance of payments recording a nation's outflow and inflow of financial securities
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profit and loss, profit and loss account
an account compiled at the end of an accounting period to show gross and net profit or loss
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suspense account
an account used temporarily to carry doubtful receipts and disbursements or discrepancies pending their analysis and permanent classification
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expense account, travel and entertainment account
an account to which salespersons or executives can charge travel and entertainment expenses
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type of:
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financial statement, statement
a document showing credits and debits
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an itemized statement of money owed for goods or services“send me an account of what I owe”
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electric bill
a bill for money owed for electricity used
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hotel bill
statement of charges for staying in a hotel
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doctor's bill, medical bill
statement of charges for medical services
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phone bill, telephone bill
statement of charges for telephone service
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reckoning, tally
a bill for an amount due
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tax bill
money owed for taxes
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check, chit, tab
the bill in a restaurant
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type of:
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financial statement, statement
a document showing credits and debits
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keep an account of
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synonyms:
calculate
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types:
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credit
accounting: enter as credit
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balance
compute credits and debits of an account
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overbalance
cause to be off balance
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debit
enter as debit
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compound
calculate principal and interest
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bill, charge
demand payment
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finance
sell or provide on credit
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impose, levy
charge and collect payment
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tithe
exact a tithe from
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assess
charge (a person or a property) with a payment, such as a tax or a fine
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undercharge
charge (someone) too little money
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surcharge
charge an extra fee, as for a special service
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invoice
send an bill to
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charge
enter a certain amount as a charge
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grounds
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importance or value“a person of considerable account”“he predicted that although it is of small account now it will rapidly increase in importance”
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type of:
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importance
the quality of being important and worthy of note
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importance
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the quality of taking advantage
Pronunciation
US
/əˈkaʊnt/
UK
/əˈkaʊnt/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘account'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing account
Freewater
Running away from the slave-owning Southerland Plantation, twelve-year-old Homer and his seven-year-old sister Ada head to the swamp, where they find some unexpected help.
Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief
In this first book of the mystery series, seventh-grader Samantha Jo Keyes looks through her binoculars and sees a burglary at the Heavenly Hotel.
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
When twelve-year-old Sophie Brown moves from a California city to a farm her dad has inherited, she is determined to learn how to raise the chickens she finds. Here's a link to our collection for the sequel: Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken?.
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