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

These 10 cities have the most retirement-age debt Florida and Texas account for seven of the 10 cities with the most average debt among retirement-age seniors, the LendingTree study found. —Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2025

The victim was identified by his family as 20-year-old Billy Sheffield IV, according to posts on social media and a GoFundMe account for funeral expenses. —Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2025

Larger institutions can make currency specific trades to try to account for foreign exchange changes. —Jesse Pound, CNBC, 14 Feb. 2025

Critics mocking Trump’s fixation on Greenland fail to account for the underlying significance to U.S. and NATO defense. —Ryan P. Burke, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Feb. 2025