accelerate

[ak-sel-uh-reyt]

verb (used with object)

accelerated, accelerating 

1. to cause faster or greater activity, development, progress, advancement, etc., in.

   to accelerate economic growth.

2. to hasten the occurrence of.

   to accelerate the fall of a government.

3. Mechanics.,  to change the velocity of (a body) or the rate of (motion); cause to undergo acceleration.

4. to reduce the time required for (a course of study) by intensifying the work, eliminating detail, etc.

verb (used without object)

accelerated, accelerating 

1. to move or go faster; increase in speed.

2. to progress or develop faster.

accelerate

/ ækˈsɛləˌreɪt /

verb

1. to go, occur, or cause to go or occur more quickly; speed up

2. (tr) to cause to happen sooner than expected

3. (tr) to increase the velocity of (a body, reaction, etc); cause acceleration

Other Word Forms

• accelerable adjective
• acceleratedly adverb
• overaccelerate verb
• reaccelerate verb
• self-accelerating adjective
• unaccelerated adjective
• accelerative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of accelerate¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Latin accelerātus “sped up,” past participle of accelerāre “to speed up,” from ac- ac- + celerāre “to hasten, hurry” (from celer “swift”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of accelerate¹

C16: from Latin accelerātus, from accelerāre to go faster, from ad- (intensive) + celerāre to hasten, from celer swift

Example Sentences

The following year, in February 2024, the company announced an accelerated timeline for the factory.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It also addresses the uncertainty around whether Hamas would be able to assemble all the living hostages quickly in its battered and fragmented state and points to a possibly accelerated timetable for their release.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The research was funded through two National MS Society initiatives: a standard investigator-initiated grant and the organization's Fast Forward program, which accelerates commercialization of promising research.

Read more on Science Daily

It’ll endanger Americans, baselessly stoke mistrust in one of the future’s most important health technologies and accelerate the offshoring of American biotech jobs that are critical for our national security.

Read more on Salon

The PTC also spoke out against media consolidation, which accelerated in the 1990s, “the problem of having too few voices hold the microphone,” Winter said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advance 
• expedite 
• further 
• hasten 
• open up 
• quicken 
• spur 
• step up 
• stimulate