acceleration
Americannoun
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accelerations
plural
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the act of accelerating; increase of speed or velocity.
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a change in velocity.
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Mechanics. the time rate of change of velocity with respect to magnitude or direction; the derivative of velocity with respect to time.
noun
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the act of accelerating or the state of being accelerated
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a. the rate of increase of speed or the rate of change of velocity
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a. the power to accelerate
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The rate of change of the velocity of a moving body. An increase in the magnitude of the velocity of a moving body (an increase in speed) is called a positive acceleration; a decrease in speed is called a negative acceleration. Acceleration, like velocity, is a vector quantity, so any change in the direction of a moving body is also an acceleration. A moving body that follows a curved path, even when its speed remains constant, is undergoing acceleration.
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See more at gravity relativity
Discover More
The most familiar kind of acceleration is a change in the speed of an object. An object that stays at the same speed but changes direction, however, is also being accelerated. (See force.)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of acceleration
First recorded in 1525–35, acceleration is from the Latin word accelerātiōn- (stem of accelerātiō ). See accelerate, -ion
Explanation
Acceleration is the act of increasing speed. When you buy a sports car, you want one that has great acceleration, so it can go from zero to 60 miles an hour in no time. Acceleration comes from the Latin word accelerationem, which means "a hastening." When you hasten, you hurry, so acceleration is a speeding-up. Maybe you are walking to an appointment and realize you will be late. You pick up your pace — that's acceleration. If the rain on a stormy day begins to come down faster, that too is acceleration. As you can see, acceleration isn't just for cars.
Vocabulary lists containing acceleration
Automobiles
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Force and Motion (Mechanics) - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As the latest data didn’t show renewed broad-based acceleration in consumer prices, markets are paring expectations for a September Federal Reserve rate increase, Commerzbank Research analysts say in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
This time around, and this may surprise some observers, Rizzo thinks companies are halfway through the spending cycle, and are on the cusp of an acceleration in capex.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
I’m very satisfied with the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. One-pedal driving, superb handling, confident acceleration and excellent stopping power if needed spoil you.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Chew illustrated the extent of the bearish acceleration in sentiment shift in an update to his equity markets positioning model published on Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
She aimed over her shoulder with undaunted courage and Robbie was a blunt-nosed spaceship zooming through the void at maximum acceleration.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Similar surveys pointed to accelerations in India and Japan, though private sector growth lost momentum in Australia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
It included the dates of 640 trips, their start and end times, the distance driven and an accounting of any speeding, hard braking or sharp accelerations.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2024
Despite the system's complexity, the team found that snowflake accelerations follow an exponential frequency distribution with an exponent of three halves.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 19, 2023
Some of Dr Wyss-Coray's earlier work suggests the biological ageing process is not steady but comes in bursts, with some rapid accelerations in people's mid-30s, early-60s and late-70s.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2023
Under extremely strong gravitational accelerations, even light is affected.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
