To account for something is to explain the reason for it. Where it went, why it happened, who has it.
It has two distinct uses. The explaining sense answers a question, so a fault that accounts for the delay is the cause of it. The counting sense is about proportion, so a region that accounts for half the sales produces that much. There is a third about people, since accounting for everybody after an evacuation means checking that all are safe, which is the most urgent version of the phrase.
1phraseaccount forTo explain the cause or reason for something.
“That would account for the noise last night.”
2phraseparticularTo make up a particular proportion of something.
“Fuel will account for most of the increase.”
Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 5 of A Man Called Ove.
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