accelerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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accelerates,
present (3rd person singular)
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accelerated,
past participle, past
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accelerating
present participle
-
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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accelerates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
accelerated,
past participle, past
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accelerating
present participle
-
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
Derived Forms
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overaccelerateverb
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reaccelerateverb
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accelerableadjective
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accelerativeadjective
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self-acceleratingadjective
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unacceleratedadjective
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acceleratedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acceleratesimple
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acceleratessimple
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have acceleratedperfect
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has acceleratedperfect
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am acceleratingprogressive
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are acceleratingprogressive
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is acceleratingprogressive
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have been acceleratingperfect progressive
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has been acceleratingperfect progressive
Past
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acceleratedsimple
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had acceleratedperfect
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was acceleratingprogressive
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were acceleratingprogressive
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had been acceleratingperfect progressive
Future
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”)
Explanation
Accelerate means to speed up. A car accelerates when you step on the gas. You can accelerate the process of getting a visa if you happen to know someone who works in the consulate. The fastest Amtrak trains are called the Acela line, a made-up word intended to suggest accelerate and therefore communicate that these trains are fast. If you are standing close to one when it zooms by, you may find yourself having an accelerated heart rate — they move pretty fast!
Vocabulary lists containing accelerate
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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Holes
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2
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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:
But other businesses see an opportunity to accelerate work by using AI to do some of the orchestration typically performed by middle managers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
“However, Intel is committed to Ohio, and we continue with our investments to accelerate the site readiness.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
The "joint intervention in late July had a short-lived impact on the yen but has increased pressure on the BoJ to accelerate the pace of rate hikes", said Shigeto Nagai, an analyst at Oxford Economics.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
The discovery could also provide inspiration for researchers and companies investigating ways to accelerate methane destruction deliberately.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
Sputnik weighed 184 pounds, and obviously required a very large rocket to accelerate this mass to a sufficient speed to achieve orbit.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
Soot deposited on snow and ice absorbs more sunlight and accelerates melting.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
But governments should not sit on their hands when it comes to regulating AI, he added, urging an "agile" approach as AI development accelerates.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
“As AI demand accelerates, data center infrastructure will require advances in both computing and connectivity to deliver greater performance with more efficiency,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said in a statement.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Finding ways to make computing more energy efficient is therefore becoming increasingly important as demand for digital services accelerates.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
“Nah, man,” Grace says as she accelerates through a yellow light.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
But the takeover accelerated the center’s downward spiral in ticket sales and fundraising.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Canada is implementing a tax change tied to the accelerated write off of capital equipment that attempts to move the country toward Prime Minister Mark Carney’s goal of attracting nearly $1 trillion of new investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Retail analysts point to two developments that accelerated the rise of private-label products.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Inflation accelerated in July towards the two percent target set by the BoJ.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Dwarf digestion, due to its accelerated rate, can be quite explosive.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
This evolving and now possibly accelerating arms race in space should come as no surprise.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Management say improving pricing in North America, stabilizing pricing in Europe and accelerating cost-savings will help offset this, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The region is warming at unprecedented rates, accelerating sea-level rise and causing severe weather in the U.S. and elsewhere.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
"It's about actually accelerating that work," Wilkinson said in a phone interview.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
It was the sound of Arthur and Erik accelerating, braking, and sliding through the mud on the perimeter road.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
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.
