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Definition of account for phrasal verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

account for

phrasal verb
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account for something
  1.  
     to be the explanation or cause of something synonym explain
    • The poor weather may have accounted for the small crowd.
    • Oh well, that accounts for it (= I understand now why it happened).
    • The differences in achievement between the pupils are partly accounted for by differences in age.
    Topics Change, cause and effectb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • fully
    • partly
    • adequately
    • …
    See full entry
  2.  
     to give an explanation of something synonym explain
    • How do you account for the show's success?
    • He was unable to account for the error.
    • The increase can be fully accounted for.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • fully
    • partly
    • adequately
    • …
    See full entry
  3.  
     to be a particular amount or part of something
    • The Japanese market accounts for 35 per cent of the company's revenue.
    language bank at proportion
account for somebody/something
  1. to know where somebody/something is or what has happened to them, especially after an accident
    • All passengers have now been accounted for.
    • Three files cannot be accounted for.
  2. (informal) to defeat or destroy somebody/something
    • Their anti-aircraft guns accounted for five enemy bombers.
account for something (to somebody)
  1. to give a record of how the money in your care has been spent
    • We have to account for every penny we spend on business trips.
See account for in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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