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accumulate

[ uh-kyoo-myuh-leyt ]
/ əˈkyu myəˌleɪt /
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See synonyms for: accumulate / accumulated / accumulates / accumulating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), ac·cu·mu·lat·ed, ac·cu·mu·lat·ing.
to gather or collect, often in gradual degrees; heap up: to accumulate wealth.
verb (used without object), ac·cu·mu·lat·ed, ac·cu·mu·lat·ing.
to gather into a heap, mass, cover, etc.; form a steadily increasing quantity: Snow accumulated in the driveway. His debts kept on accumulating.
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Origin of accumulate

1520–30; <Latin accumulātus heaped up (past participle of accumulāre), equivalent to ac-ac- + cumul(us) heap + -ātus-ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM accumulate

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

How to use accumulate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for accumulate

accumulate
/ (əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt) /

verb
to gather or become gathered together in an increasing quantity; amass; collect

Derived forms of accumulate

accumulable, adjectiveaccumulative, adjectiveaccumulatively, adverbaccumulativeness, noun

Word Origin for accumulate

C16: from Latin accumulātus, past participle of accumulāre to heap up, from cumulus a heap
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
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