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
-
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:
The company’s cloud business growth continued to accelerate, contributing to a higher profit and easing jitters over potential returns from the AI build-out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth told MarketWatch that he sees Microsoft’s debt offering as a “positive development” that will help the company accelerate its revenue growth.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
"Together, we can accelerate innovation across the grocery industry and make online grocery more seamless and affordable for the millions of households we serve," Instacart's chief executive said.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
As deadlines for the ports’ clean-air goals are approaching, they are motivated to accelerate the transition to green vehicles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
"A breach at the VAL, with the bridge and reactor room sealed off, would accelerate us twenty-nine meters per second."
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
As this technology accelerates its own evolution, the risk is that we struggle to keep pace and keep it under control.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
As this technology accelerates its own evolution, the risk is that we struggle to keep pace and keep it under control, writes columnist Ben Cohen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
As AI use accelerates, construction of power-hungry data centres is booming worldwide, especially in Asia.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
“Slowing wage growth even as inflation accelerates is a sign that workers are having a hard time moving up to better-paying jobs, even if outright unemployment is low,” Adams of Fifth Third said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
“Sorry!” she calls as she accelerates, as if the other driver can hear.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
South Korea’s semiconductor-driven export growth accelerated at a stronger-than-expected pace in October, bringing the country closer to its unprecedented $1 trillion annual export target.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Global warming has accelerated sharply over the past decade, with Earth heating up faster than at any point since modern temperature records began in 1880.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
From the end of 2020 prosecutions under the law restarted and accelerated.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The decline came as inflation accelerated to 3.4 percent on an annualised basis in October from 3.1 percent in September, the fastest rate since January 2024, Insee said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Their training was being streamlined and accelerated, a new camp was being enlarged to take more recruits.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
The Taiwan-born businessman has advocated for the use of his company's chips in China, where Beijing has been accelerating development of its own semiconductors.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
Exports from Asia’s fourth-largest economy rose 93.7% from a year earlier to $115.28 billion, accelerating from September’s revised 83.7% increase, according to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Countries have recognised the main barrier to accelerating those efforts is money.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
The personal-consumption expenditures price index rose 3.6% in September, accelerating from August’s 3.4% gain and compared with a 3.7% consensus expectation from The Wall Street Journal’s poll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Seabiscuit was accelerating, his rhythm building, his mind narrowed down to his task at the urgent call of his rider.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
