1 noun
ac‧count1 S2 W1 [countable]


a written or spoken description that says what happens in an event or process
account of
He was too shocked to give an account of what had happened.
blow-by-blow account (=a description of all the details of an event in the order that they happened)
Chomsky's account of how children learn their first language
eye-witness/first-hand account (=description of events by someone who saw them)
Eye-witness accounts told of the unprovoked shooting of civilians.
This gives a first-hand account of the war.

at a bank

written abbreviation a/c or acct. an arrangement in which a bank keeps your money safe so that you can pay more in or take money out:
My salary is paid into my bank account.
I've opened an account with Barclay's Bank.
My husband and I have a joint account (=one that is shared between two people).
bank account, checking account, current account, deposit account, profit and loss account, savings account

take account of something

also take something into account to consider or include particular facts or details when making a decision or judgment about something:
These figures do not take account of changes in the rate of inflation.

on account of something

because of something else, especially a problem or difficulty:
She was told to wear flat shoes, on account of her back problem.


a) [plural]BF an exact record of the money that a company has received and the money it has spent:
The accounts for last year showed a profit of $2 million.
b) [uncountable]BBC a department in a company that is responsible for keeping records of the amount of money spent and received:
Eileen works in accounts.

on account

if you buy goods on account, you take them away with you and pay for them later

with a shop/company

an arrangement that you have with a shop or company, which allows you to buy goods or use a service now and pay for them later [= credit account]:
Can you charge this to my account please?
an unlimited-use Internet account


a statement that shows how much money you owe for things you have bought from a shop [= bill]
pay/settle your account (=pay what you owe)
James left the restaurant, settling his account by credit card.

arrangement to sell goods

an arrangement to sell goods and services to another company over a period of time:
Our sales manager has secured several big accounts recently.

by/from all accounts

according to what a lot of people say:
It has, from all accounts, been a successful marriage.

on somebody's account

if you do something on someone's account, you do it because you think they want you to:
Please don't change your plans on my account.

on your own account

by yourself or for yourself:
Carrie decided to do a little research on her own account.

on no account/not on any account

used when saying that someone must not, for any reason, do something:
On no account must you disturb me.

by somebody's own account

according to what you have said, especially when you have admitted doing something wrong:
Bentley was, by his own account, over-sensitive to criticism.

on that account/on this account

concerning a particular situation:
There needn't be any more worries on that account.

give a good/poor account of yourself

to do something or perform very well or very badly:
Kevin gave a good account of himself in today's game.

bring/call somebody to account

formal to force someone who is responsible for a mistake or a crime to explain publicly why they did it and punish them for it if necessary:
The people responsible for the accident have never been brought to account.

put/turn something to good account

formal to use something for a good purpose:
Perhaps she could put some of her talents to good account by helping us.

of no/little account

formal not important:
As she grew up, her father was of no account to her.

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