From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishaccount for something phrasal verb1 BEto form a particular amount or part of something Afro-Americans account for 12% of the US population.2 REASONto be the reason why something happens SYN explain Recent pressure at work may account for his behavior.3 REASONto give a satisfactory explanation of why something has happened or why you did something SYN explain Can you account for your movements on that night?4 HEREto say where all the members of a group of people or things are, especially because you are worried that some of them may be lost Three days after the earthquake, more than 150 people had still to be accounted for. → account→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
account for • These occupations now account for 37. 6 percent of all workers.• In the whole of 1995, imports accounted for 58 % compared with 57 % in 1994.• This accounts for 90 percent of reported pollution incidents.• The King claimed that all the funds acquired through the passport sales had been accounted for.• Higher education accounts for about 13 percent of general fund expenditures.• The high-handed way in which Washington dropped the idea on its Western partners accounts for some the hostile reaction it has received.• The company said it will write off $ 80 million in inventory to account for the expected lower selling prices.• A similar mechanism may perhaps account for the fact that some group-living animals drive sick or injured individuals out of the group.From Longman Business Dictionaryaccount for something phrasal verb [transitive]1to be a particular amount or part of somethingOwn-label products now account for more than 20% of sales in some European supermarkets.2ACCOUNTING to show something in a company’s accounts in a particular wayIn financial statements, the bonds should be accounted for as debt. → account→ See Verb table 