give a detailed account

Meaning

This formal expression means to provide a comprehensive, step-by-step explanation or description of an event, process, or situation. It is often used in business reports, meetings, and investigations when a thorough summary is required.

Examples

• The manager asked her to give a detailed account of the client meeting.

  The manager asked her to give a detailed account of the client meeting.

• In his report, the auditor gave a detailed account of the company's expenses.

  In his report, the auditor gave a detailed account of the company's expenses.

• Can you give a detailed account of what caused the system outage yesterday?

  Can you give a detailed account of what caused the system outage yesterday?

• The witness was asked to give a detailed account of the accident.

  The witness was asked to give a detailed account of the accident.

• She gave a detailed account of her research findings during the presentation.

  She gave a detailed account of her research findings during the presentation.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Please give a detailed account about the project status.

  ✓ Please give a detailed account of the project status.

  The correct preposition to use after 'account' when describing a topic is 'of', not 'about'.

• ✗ He gave a detailed accounting of what happened.

  ✓ He gave a detailed account of what happened.

  While 'accounting' refers to financial record-keeping, 'account' is the correct noun for a description or narrative of events.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The project manager will ___ of the budget discrepancies tomorrow.

  💡 provide a thorough explanation

  Show answer

  give a detailed account

• The technical team was asked to ___ of the software bug.

  💡 describe the event step-by-step

  Show answer

  give a detailed account