phrasal verb · formal
account for
/əˈkaʊnt fɔːr/ac·COUNT for
to make up or explain the size of a part of a total
Examples
“International students account for nearly 30% of enrolments.”
“Poor maintenance may account for the decline in visitor numbers.”
“Online purchases account for the majority of sales in the winter period.”
Band 8 sentence
“International tourists now account for the majority of revenues in the hospitality sector.”
Collocations
- account for X% / account for the increase
- account for nearly/approximately
Word family
Common mistakes
account 30% of→account for 30% of
accounting for 30% people→accounting for 30% of people
They account to 40%→They account for 40%
Say it for a higher band
5make up→6take up→7+account for
Synonyms
make up
constitute
Easily confused
make up
“Domestic sales make up over half of total revenue.”
constitute
“Women constitute 48% of the workforce.”
Related words
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In Comparing proportions
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