What does account mean?
Account is one of those rare English words that serves equally in the counting house and the storyteller's art. Most familiarly a noun, it names a record of money paid and received — the bank or credit card account that structures modern financial life — but it equally denotes a report or narrative: a witness's account of an accident, a journalist's first-hand account of a war. It also appears in indispensable idioms: we 'take something into account' when considering factors, do things 'on account of' a reason, and judge reputations 'by all accounts'. The verb survives chiefly in 'account for', meaning to explain or constitute, as when a manager must account for missing funds. Derived forms include accountable, accountant, accounting, and accountancy. Formal in tone when used of narratives yet utterly routine in banking contexts, account is among the most versatile and frequently used words in English.
A record or statement of financial expenditure and receipts relating to a particular period or purpose.
"The auditor reviewed the company's accounts for the fiscal year."
A report or description of an event or experience.
"Her account of the journey was published as a travel memoir."
To consider or regard in a specified way, or to explain the cause of something (usually in 'account for').
"The delay is accounted for by bad weather."
The plural often refers specifically to financial records or statements, as in 'the company accounts'.
"All accounts must be submitted before the end of the quarter."
The word on your bank statement and the story you tell your friends come from the same Latin root — because for medieval merchants, keeping accounts literally meant counting out loud.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of account
Account derives from Old French 'aconter', from 'a-' (from Latin 'ad-', 'to') plus 'conter', 'to count or tell' — which is why the same root gives us both 'count' (numbers) and 'count/tell' (narrate), via Latin 'computare'. It entered Middle English in the medieval period, carried by Anglo-Norman commercial usage, where bookkeeping and storytelling were both matters of 'counting'. Its cognates include count, recount, discount, and counter, all from the same Latin source.
Related word forms
How account is actually used
As a verb, 'account' is now used almost exclusively in fixed expressions such as 'account for' and in formal legal or literary registers ('I account him a friend'); ordinary verbs like 'consider' or 'regard' have largely replaced it elsewhere. The noun spans everyday banking language and formal narrative prose without change of register.
Easily confused with account
An accountant is a person who professionally manages or inspects accounts; 'account' itself is the record or narrative.
An amount is a quantity or sum, whereas an account is a record or report (often but not only of money).