accelerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause faster or greater activity, development, progress, advancement, etc., in.
to accelerate economic growth.
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to hasten the occurrence of.
to accelerate the fall of a government.
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Mechanics. to change the velocity of (a body) or the rate of (motion); cause to undergo acceleration.
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to reduce the time required for (a course of study) by intensifying the work, eliminating detail, etc.
verb (used without object)
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to move or go faster; increase in speed.
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to progress or develop faster.
verb
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to go, occur, or cause to go or occur more quickly; speed up
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(tr) to cause to happen sooner than expected
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(tr) to increase the velocity of (a body, reaction, etc); cause acceleration
Other Word Forms
- accelerable adjective
- acceleratedly adverb
- accelerative adjective
- overaccelerate verb
- reaccelerate verb
- self-accelerating adjective
- unaccelerated adjective
Etymology
Origin of accelerate
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”)
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.
Management said that organic revenue growth is expected to accelerate in the second half of this year.
From MarketWatch
Management said that organic revenue growth is expected to accelerate in the second half of this year.
From MarketWatch
Instead of spending hours poring over a lengthy 10-K, teams can accelerate tasks with precise prompts and receive structured, defensible outputs powering market-moving decisions in seconds.
From MarketWatch
Another 40 patients underwent the accelerated format of five sessions daily for five consecutive days.
From Science Daily
In 2025-26, government revenues were lifted by a "buoyant equity market" and accelerated growth, which led to a consolidated surplus of US$371 million instead of a predicted deficit, according to Chan.
From Barron's
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.