account for (someone or something)
phrasal verb
accounted for (someone or something); accounting for (someone or something); accounts for (someone or something)
1
: to show what happened to (someone or something) : know where (something or someone) is
We have to account for the time we spend on each activity.
The government couldn't account for millions of dollars of the taxpayers' money.
Is everyone accounted for?
2
: to destroy or kill (someone or something)
Enemy fighters have accounted for most of our bombers, Sir.
3
chiefly British
: to defeat or beat (someone or something)
We accounted for the challengers 3–2.
Examples of account for (someone or something) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Today, in-group productions account for 50% of Mediawan Rights’ distribution activity – though Vleeschhouwer is hardly averse to finding synergistic opportunities with the third-party producers that make up the other half.
—
Ben Croll, Variety, 16 May 2024
Now, banks account for less than half of the lending there.
—Fortune Editors, Fortune, 16 May 2024
Today, Black people account for just 6.7% of America’s public K-12 teachers, even as Black children make up more than 15% of public school students.
—Andrea Guiden Pittman, The Conversation, 16 May 2024
What did Roaring Kitty do this time? After laying dormant since June 18, 2021, the X account for TheRoaringKitty posted a meme May 12.
—Stan Choe, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 May 2024
The study, conducted among 5,078 Hispanic adults in November 2023, Latinas account for 17% of all adult women in the U.S. today.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 15 May 2024
Those figures, however, only account for 70% of deaths fully identified.
—Aya Batrawy, NPR, 15 May 2024
Gates' death was confirmed by the official Instagram account for Illinoise.
—Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 10 May 2024
The symplectic space only has to account for the spacecraft’s position and velocity, since Jupiter and Europa’s motion can be easily described.
—Leila Sloman, WIRED, 5 May 2024
Ben Croll, Variety, 16 May 2024
Now, banks account for less than half of the lending there.
—Fortune Editors, Fortune, 16 May 2024
Today, Black people account for just 6.7% of America’s public K-12 teachers, even as Black children make up more than 15% of public school students.
—Andrea Guiden Pittman, The Conversation, 16 May 2024
What did Roaring Kitty do this time? After laying dormant since June 18, 2021, the X account for TheRoaringKitty posted a meme May 12.
—Stan Choe, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 May 2024
The study, conducted among 5,078 Hispanic adults in November 2023, Latinas account for 17% of all adult women in the U.S. today.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 15 May 2024
Those figures, however, only account for 70% of deaths fully identified.
—Aya Batrawy, NPR, 15 May 2024
Gates' death was confirmed by the official Instagram account for Illinoise.
—Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 10 May 2024
The symplectic space only has to account for the spacecraft’s position and velocity, since Jupiter and Europa’s motion can be easily described.
—Leila Sloman, WIRED, 5 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'account for (someone or something).' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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account for (someone or something)
Cite this Entry
“Account for (someone or something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/account%20for%20%28someone%20or%20something%29. Accessed 20 May. 2024.
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