account
account — verb
1. to form an opinion that a person or thing has a particular quality or status, of
to form an opinion that a person or thing has a particular quality or status, often in a careful or official judgement.
The villagers had long accounted Mrs. Patel the wisest woman in the valley.
account + object + noun complement, formal register
Among local fishermen, the old harbour at Brixham is still accounted lucky.
passive: be accounted + adjective
Critics now account her early novels as her finest work.
The judges accounted Lior a serious contender after his strong opening match.
In Roman law, a child born after the father's death was accounted legitimate.
文法句型
account + object + (as) + noun/adjective
be accounted + noun/adjective
用法筆記
Frequently passive (be accounted X). Sounds formal, literary, or legalistic; in everyday speech, speakers prefer 'consider' or 'regard as'. The complement is a noun or adjective, never a that-clause.
常見錯誤
account — noun
1. a service from a bank that lets you store your money safely, add to it, and take
a service from a bank that lets you store your money safely, add to it, and take some out whenever you want.
Vesna opened her first account at the bank near the train station last week.
open + an account + at/with [bank]
Hiro transferred two thousand dollars from his savings account to pay the rent.
[type] + savings/checking + account
There is barely fifty pounds left in my account until payday on Friday.
The Watanabe family closed their joint account after they moved to Osaka.
Please write your account number clearly at the top of the form.
- deposit account
specific type that earns interest on stored money
- checking account
American term for an everyday-use account; British equivalent is 'current account'
文法句型
open / close / have an account with [bank]
用法筆記
Object is usually a fixed bank product: savings account, checking/current account, joint account, deposit account. The verb collocates strongly: open, close, hold, transfer to/from.
常見錯誤
2. a detailed report, in writing or speech, telling other people what happened duri
a detailed report, in writing or speech, telling other people what happened during a particular event or situation.
The witness gave a clear account of the robbery to the detective.
give + an account + of + [event]
Her diary contains a moving account of life in the village during the war.
an account of + [period/topic]
Reporters were asked to write a short account of the minister's speech.
Lior published a first-hand account of his three months in the Antarctic.
The two boys gave very different accounts of who started the fight.
- report
more formal and often written for an institution
- description
broader; 'account' implies sequence of events, 'description' may be static
- narrative
literary; emphasises story-shape over factual record
文法句型
an account of [event/situation]
give / provide an account
用法筆記
Almost always followed by 'of' plus the event or topic being described. Distinguish from sense 1 (BANK): this sense is uncountable-feeling reporting, not a financial product.
常見錯誤
3. used in the fixed phrase 'by all accounts' to introduce something that lots of d
used in the fixed phrase 'by all accounts' to introduce something that lots of different people are reporting, even if the speaker has no direct proof.
By all accounts, the new principal is much stricter than the last one.
By all accounts + [clause]
The concert in Berlin was, by all accounts, the best show of the tour.
mid-sentence: , by all accounts ,
By all accounts, Mrs. Nadia was a brilliant teacher who pushed her students hard.
The festival, by all accounts, drew a record crowd to the small fishing town.
- apparently
less precise; doesn't suggest multiple sources
- reportedly
more formal; common in news writing
文法句型
By all accounts, [clause]
用法筆記
Only appears in this fixed phrase. The speaker is repeating what others say, so the claim is hearsay rather than personal observation. Distinguish from sense 4 ('by your own account'), which credits a single person, not the public.
常見錯誤
4. used in the fixed phrase 'by one's own account' to mark a claim as coming from t
used in the fixed phrase 'by one's own account' to mark a claim as coming from the person concerned, with no other evidence yet that it is true.
By his own account, Tom had never set foot in the warehouse before that night.
By + [possessive] + own account
The painter, by her own account, finished the mural in just three days.
mid-sentence with comma pair
By their own account, the climbers reached the summit just after sunrise.
Lior, by his own account, had quit smoking the day his daughter was born.
- according to himself/herself
more conversational equivalent
文法句型
By his/her/their own account, [clause]
用法筆記
The speaker passes responsibility for the truth of the claim to the named person. Often signals mild scepticism. Distinguish from sense 3 ('by all accounts'), which appeals to many people, not just the subject.
常見錯誤
5. used in the phrase 'on account of' to introduce the cause or reason that somethi
used in the phrase 'on account of' to introduce the cause or reason that something happened.
The flight to Tokyo was delayed on account of heavy snow at the airport.
on account of + [noun phrase]
Uri missed two days of school on account of a bad cough.
on account of + [reason for absence]
The match was called off on account of the waterlogged pitch.
Daniel turned down the promotion on account of having a young baby at home.
The library closes early on account of staff training every first Tuesday.
- because of
neutral, far more frequent in speech
- due to
interchangeable in formal writing
- owing to
formal; preferred sentence-initially
文法句型
on account of + [noun phrase]
on account of + [-ing clause]
用法筆記
Slightly formal — 'because of' is more common in everyday speech. Followed by a noun phrase or a gerund clause, not a full finite clause: say 'on account of the rain', not 'on account of it rained'.
常見錯誤
6. a deal you have set up with a particular shop or company so you can take goods o
a deal you have set up with a particular shop or company so you can take goods or services now and pay the bill afterwards.
The chef told the waiter to put the wine on the restaurant's account.
put + [item] + on + somebody's + account
Mrs. Cole keeps an account at the village butcher and pays at the end of each month.
keep / hold + an account + at + [shop]
Please settle your account before the first of next month, or we may charge interest.
The hotel offered Lior an account so his company could pay for stays each quarter.
Loyal customers can open an account with the wine merchant and order by phone.
- credit account
more explicit term used in business contexts
- tab
informal; mainly for small running totals at bars or cafés
文法句型
have / open / settle an account with [shop]
put it on someone's account
用法筆記
Subject is usually a shop, restaurant, or supplier; the customer 'has' or 'opens' the account, the supplier 'extends' or 'offers' it. Distinguish from sense 1 (BANK): a bank account holds your money, while this account holds your unpaid bill.
常見錯誤
7. a person or company that regularly buys goods or services from another company,
a person or company that regularly buys goods or services from another company, especially one that is treated as a long-term client.
Sophie was promoted after she brought three new accounts to the agency last year.
bring [a number of] accounts to [a company]
The advertising firm lost a major account when the supermarket chain switched suppliers.
major / key account
Lior handles all the European accounts from the Berlin office.
Their biggest account is a French car maker that orders parts every month.
The sales team meets weekly to review progress on each account.
用法筆記
Subject is usually a company or sales team, and the account refers to the buying side, not the selling side. Often paired with verbs like win, lose, handle, manage.
常見錯誤
8. a personal record set up with a website, app, or email service, allowing one use
a personal record set up with a website, app, or email service, allowing one user to log in with their name and a password to use the service.
Daniel created an Instagram account so he could share photos of his trip to Kyoto.
create / set up an account
Please log in to your Gmail account before opening the shared document.
log in to your account
My grandmother forgot the password to her email account again this morning.
The school deleted Uri's old account when she finished her final year.
You need a Spotify account to save your favourite songs into playlists.
用法筆記
Almost always paired with a service name (email, Twitter, Netflix) or a device. Distinguish from sense 1 (BANK): a bank account holds money, while this sense holds login data and user content.
常見錯誤
9. the value or significance attached to a person or thing, used mainly in fixed ph
the value or significance attached to a person or thing, used mainly in fixed phrases like 'of no account' or 'of little account' to say something does not matter much.
In the duke's eyes, the opinions of the villagers were of no account.
of no account = not important
The cost of the repair was of little account compared to saving the old church.
of little account compared to
Whether she arrived by train or by car was of small account to her host.
To the young scientist, fame and money were of no account beside his research.
- importance
the everyday word; used in any register, not only fixed phrases
- significance
more formal; emphasises lasting or wider meaning
- importance
the same noun in plain frames contrasts with 'of no account'
文法句型
of no/little/great account
用法筆記
Almost always appears in the frame 'of [no/little/small/great] account', often with 'to' or 'compared to'. Outside these phrases the sense sounds archaic. Distinguish from sense 'REASON' (on account of): that one explains a cause, while this one weighs importance.
常見錯誤
10. a written or electronic record showing the money a business has received and pai
a written or electronic record showing the money a business has received and paid out over a period of time, often kept as a set of related documents.
Mr Patel checks the company accounts every Friday before the staff meeting.
check / go through the accounts
The charity must publish its accounts each year so donors can see how the money is spent.
publish accounts each year
Auditors found a small mistake in the school's accounts for last spring.
Lucy keeps the family business accounts in a simple notebook by the till.
The bookshop sent us an account for the books we ordered in March.
用法筆記
Usually plural ('the accounts') when it means the full set of records; singular when it means one bill or one statement of charges. Common in business contexts and often paired with verbs like keep, check, audit, publish.