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
Oral GLP-1s could grow to be worth $50 billion of that total, while injections would account for the rest, according to some analyst estimates.
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Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
The people of Utah were grappling with much bigger questions: whether race and gender should define them and their friendships and communities; why some people in the country feel muzzled and excluded; whether D.E.I. is a useful way to account for America’s sins of discrimination.
—Emma Green, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to account for sudden stops or changes in the traffic pattern.
—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Because that which may be business as usual for company X might be an entirely new way of thinking and doing for company Y, and our judging and selection of the fifty CMOs recognized on this year’s list makes efforts to account for this.
—Seth Matlins, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for account for (someone or something)
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Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
The people of Utah were grappling with much bigger questions: whether race and gender should define them and their friendships and communities; why some people in the country feel muzzled and excluded; whether D.E.I. is a useful way to account for America’s sins of discrimination.
—Emma Green, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to account for sudden stops or changes in the traffic pattern.
—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Because that which may be business as usual for company X might be an entirely new way of thinking and doing for company Y, and our judging and selection of the fifty CMOs recognized on this year’s list makes efforts to account for this.
—Seth Matlins, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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 21 Apr. 2025.
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