unaccounted-for

[ uhn-uh-koun-tid-fawr ]

adjective

1. not accounted for; not understood; unexplained:

   an explosion resulting from some unaccounted-for mechanical failure.

Word History and Origins

Origin of unaccounted-for¹

1790–1800; formed on the verb phrase account for; un- ¹, -ed ²

Example Sentences

The result of this stock-taking shows that eleven volumes were unaccounted-for, a list of which is appended.

From Project Gutenberg

At this stock-taking the number unaccounted-for is twenty-two, several of which are quite recent accessions to the Library.

From Project Gutenberg

My intention, of course, was to call to the notice of the jurors its unaccounted-for disappearance.

From Project Gutenberg

The expenses necessitated by these frequent removals make an unaccounted-for item in many incomes.

From Project Gutenberg

This last is hardly a story of unaccounted-for disappearance.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• away
• lost
• removed