Give an account of in words (8)
I believe the answer is:
describe
'give an account of in words' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for describe that I've seen before include "Draw (a geometrical figure)" , "Portray - narrate" , "Delineate" , "Say what something is like (8)" , "Represent in words" .)