accumulator
Americannoun
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a person or thing that accumulates.
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a register or electric device on an arithmetic machine, as an adding machine, cash register, or digital computer, that receives a number and produces and stores the results of arithmetic operations of the given number with other numbers.
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British. a storage battery or storage cell.
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an apparatus that stores fluid at approximately the working pressure of the hydraulic or pneumatic system in which it will be employed, so that a supply of fluid is always immediately available to the system.
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Machinery. (in a boiler) a vessel for storing hot fluid, ready to flash into steam.
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Hydraulics. a vessel in which air is trapped and compressed by the liquid, thus storing energy to supply liquid under pressure when the demand of the system is greater than the capacity of the pump.
noun
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Also called: battery. storage battery. a rechargeable device for storing electrical energy in the form of chemical energy, consisting of one or more separate secondary cells
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horse racing a collective bet, esp on four or more races, in which the stake and winnings on each successive race are carried forward to become the stake on the next, so that both stakes and winnings accumulate progressively so long as the bet continues to be a winning one
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a register in a computer or calculator used for holding the results of a computation or data transfer
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a location in a computer store in which arithmetical results are produced
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Etymology
Origin of accumulator
1685–95; < Latin accumulātor, equivalent to accumulā ( re ) to heap up ( see accumulate) + -tor -tor
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.
In a web posting titled “Copay Accumulator Programs Level the Out-of-Pocket Playing Field,” Express Scripts refers to its “Out of Pocket Protection Program” as a way “to ensure an equal benefit for all members.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 9, 2022
The Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator was designed by Swedish scientist Gustaf Dalen in 1922 with production starting in Shropshire in 1929.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2015
The illuminated airway, a marvel of engineering, has received the co�peration of the General Electric Co., the Sperry Gyroscope Co. and the American Gas Accumulator Co.
From Time Magazine Archive
When they realized how silly they looked, they progressed to Terry Riley's Time-Lag Accumulator.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sums and differences are formed in the Accumulator.
From Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) October, 1960 by Digital Equipment Corporation
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.
