Meaning & use
accounts
Last updated
“accounts” is a form of “account”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Arrangements with a bank or similar firm in which money is held or credit is given in someone's name.
Grammar: Plural of account: she has two accounts.
Patterns
- open accounts
- close accounts
- accounts at something
She keeps her savings and spending money in separate accounts.
The bank froze both accounts while it investigated.
They opened joint accounts after they married.
nounpluralbusinessfinance
The official records of the money a business or person receives and spends.
Grammar: Usually plural with no article: the accounts show a loss.
Patterns
- keep accounts
- check the accounts
- accounts for the year
The accountant is preparing the company's accounts for the year.
The charity must publish its accounts every spring.
He keeps careful accounts of everything he spends.
nounpluralcomputing
Registered user profiles that let people sign in and use an online service.
Grammar: Plural of account: users create accounts.
Patterns
- create accounts
- delete accounts
The site deletes accounts that have been inactive for two years.
We set up separate accounts for each child on the tablet.
Several accounts were hacked in the breach.
nounplural
Spoken or written descriptions of something that happened, as told by different people.
Grammar: Plural of account: accounts differ.
Patterns
- accounts of something
- conflicting accounts
Eyewitness accounts of the crash did not agree.
Her book contains vivid accounts of life at sea.
The two accounts of the meeting were very different.
Word forms
| singular | account |
|---|
Common combinations
- bank accounts
- Police checked his bank accounts.
- keep accounts
- She keeps accounts for her small shop.
- eyewitness accounts
- Eyewitness accounts described a loud explosion.
- social media accounts
- His social media accounts were suspended.
- annual accounts
- The firm filed its annual accounts late.
- by all accounts
- By all accounts, the concert was a success.
Synonyms and how they differ
- records
- Records is a general word for kept information, while accounts specifically means financial records.
- profiles
- Profiles are the personal pages on a site, but accounts include the login and settings behind them.
- reports
- Reports are formal descriptions of events, whereas accounts can be personal retellings.
- ledgers
- Ledgers are the books where money is recorded, but accounts is the broader word.
Word family
- account noun
- one such arrangement or description
- accountant noun
- a person who keeps financial records
- accounting noun
- the work of keeping financial records
- accountable adjective
- responsible for your actions
- account for verb
- to explain or make up a part of something
Commonly confused: accounts or accounts payable?
accounts vs accounts payable
Accounts payable are the bills a business owes, not the same as general accounts.
Practice
The two witnesses gave conflicting ___ of the argument.
Choose one answer.
Accounts here means descriptions of events. Accountants are people who keep financial records, and the other options do not suit the phrase conflicting accounts of an argument.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “accounts”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.