acceleration

[ ak-sel-uh-rey-shuhn ]

/ ækˌsɛl əˈreɪ ʃən /

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See synonyms for acceleration on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of accelerating; increase of speed or velocity.

a change in velocity.

Mechanics. the time rate of change of velocity with respect to magnitude or direction; the derivative of velocity with respect to time.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of acceleration

First recorded in 1525–35, acceleration is from the Latin word accelerātiōn- (stem of accelerātiō). See accelerate, -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM acceleration

non·ac·cel·er·a·tion, nouno·ver·ac·cel·er·a·tion, nounre·ac·cel·er·a·tion, noun

Words nearby acceleration

accelerando, accelerant, accelerate, accelerated reader, accelerating universe, acceleration, acceleration clause, acceleration coefficient, accelerationist, acceleration of free fall, acceleration of gravity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use acceleration in a sentence

Companies are finding new ways to do business, and in the process we’re seeing an acceleration of technologies that, though they were already in the pipeline, would have taken several more years to really pick up speed.
Walmart Is Piloting Drone Delivery in North Carolina|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|September 11, 2020|Singularity Hub
There’s huge swaths of our society that will be completely left behind by the acceleration of these technological trends.
Why Jeb Bush Admires Andrew Yang|Nick Fouriezos|September 8, 2020|Ozy
The acceleration of digitization, the re-thinking of offices, the increasing involvement of stakeholders on issues like safety and diversity, have created a greater need and desire by executives to convene and share ideas and best practices.
Fortune has a full fall of virtual events coming up|Alan Murray|September 8, 2020|Fortune
If you want powerful, fast acceleration from a dead stop to get up to speed in traffic or with heavy loads, a Class 2 throttle-assist bike with a motor that has a max torque of 60 Newton-meters or higher might be the right approach.
Do You Want to Buy an E-Cargo Bike? Read This First.|Joe Lindsey|August 30, 2020|Outside Online

Meanwhile, direct-to-consumer sales are up 1,400 percent from the same time last year, a surge Wolfe Pereira attributes to “the acceleration of e-commerce.”
Your Kids Need a Dose of Bilingual Culture? He Can Help|Nick Fouriezos|August 9, 2020|Ozy
One rapid acceleration per day adds up to $365 in additional fuel costs per year.
Testing Automatic Link, the FitBit for Your Car|Jamie Todd Rubin|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The three most fuel-costly activities are rough braking, rapid acceleration, and speeding above 70 mph.
Testing Automatic Link, the FitBit for Your Car|Jamie Todd Rubin|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And if the effect of acceleration was stronger in some patches than others, that would mean less or more clumping up of galaxies.
Using Black Holes to Measure Dark Energy, Like a BOSS|Matthew R. Francis|April 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That return, and that acceleration, are not coincidences either.
Ukraine Is On the Verge Of War And Putin Is To Blame|Michael Weiss|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It has three sensors which track steps, acceleration, and altitude.
Can I Lose Weight Playing Video Games?|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I lay there, the increasing acceleration pressing me hard against the cool metal.
Valley of the Croen|Lee Tarbell
On a curved bridge the centrifugal load due to the radical acceleration of the train.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
The function of this plunger is to provide a resistance in addition to that of the air valve spring to assist in acceleration.
Marvel Carbureter and Heat Control|Anonymous
You do not really employ that barbarous method of acceleration?
The Adventures of Harry Revel|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
"All the other Gerns are by now in their acceleration couches," he said.
Space Prison|Tom Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for acceleration

acceleration

/ (ækˌsɛləˈreɪʃən) /

noun

the act of accelerating or the state of being accelerated

the rate of increase of speed or the rate of change of velocitySymbol: a

the power to accelerateSymbol: a

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for acceleration

acceleration

[ ăk-sĕl′ə-rā′shən ]

The rate of change of the velocity of a moving body. An increase in the magnitude of the velocity of a moving body (an increase in speed) is called a positive acceleration; a decrease in speed is called a negative acceleration. Acceleration, like velocity, is a vector quantity, so any change in the direction of a moving body is also an acceleration. A moving body that follows a curved path, even when its speed remains constant, is undergoing acceleration. See more at gravity relativity.

Cultural definitions for acceleration

acceleration

A change in the velocity of an object.

notes for acceleration

The most familiar kind of acceleration is a change in the speed of an object. An object that stays at the same speed but changes direction, however, is also being accelerated. (See force.)

acceleration

Origin of acceleration

OTHER WORDS FROM acceleration

Words nearby acceleration

Words related to acceleration

How to use acceleration in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for acceleration

Scientific definitions for acceleration

Cultural definitions for acceleration

notes for acceleration