Meaning & use
numbered account
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Meaning
nouncountablefinance
A bank account identified only by a number or code instead of the owner's name, to keep the owner's identity private.
Grammar: Countable: a numbered account, several numbered accounts.
Patterns
- open a numbered account
The businessman kept his savings in a numbered account in Zurich.
Laws now make it harder to hide money in a numbered account.
In the film, the spy has a numbered account that holds his payments.
Word forms
| plural | numbered accounts |
|---|
Common combinations
- open a numbered account
- Few banks will now open a numbered account without checking identity.
- Swiss numbered account
- A Swiss numbered account was once a symbol of secrecy.
- hold a numbered account
- He held a numbered account for twenty years.
- secret numbered account
- Investigators traced the money to a secret numbered account.
Synonyms and how they differ
- anonymous account
- Anonymous account is a looser term that may mean no identity is kept at all, while a numbered account usually still has a known owner.
- coded account
- Coded account is rarely used and just points to the use of a code.
- secret account
- Secret account suggests hidden wrongdoing, whereas a numbered account can be a legal privacy tool.
Word family
- account noun
- an arrangement to keep money in a bank
- number noun
- a figure used to identify something
- accountant noun
- a person who keeps financial records
- numbered adjective
- marked with a number
Commonly confused: numbered account or account number?
numbered account vs account number
An account number is the code every account has, while a numbered account uses the code in place of the owner's name.
Practice
What is the main purpose of a numbered account?
Choose one answer.
A numbered account replaces the name with a code for privacy. It does not give higher interest or lower taxes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “numbered account”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.