Synonyms

accumulate

American

[uh-kyoo-myuh-leyt] / əˈkyu myəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

accumulated, accumulating

to gather or collect, often in gradual degrees; heap up.

to accumulate wealth.

verb (used without object)

accumulated, accumulating

to gather into a heap, mass, cover, etc.; form a steadily increasing quantity.

Snow accumulated in the driveway. His debts kept on accumulating.

accumulate British

/ əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt /

verb

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

"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

Other Word Forms

accumulable adjective
accumulative adjective
accumulatively adverb
accumulativeness noun
nonaccumulating adjective
overaccumulate verb
preaccumulate verb (used with object)
reaccumulate verb
superaccumulate verb (used without object)
unaccumulable adjective
unaccumulated adjective
well-accumulated adjective

Etymology

Origin of accumulate

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin accumulātus “heaped up,” past participle of accumulāre “to heap up,” from ac- ac- + cumul(us) “heap” ( cumulus ( def. ) ) + -āre, infinitive verb suffix

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.

A previous attempt to run for President in 2020 saw the rapper accumulate just 60,000 votes out of an estimated total of 160 million.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

"The intense heat and radiation split the molecular hydrogen that makes up vast, interstellar gas clouds, quenching its potential to accumulate and turn into new stars."

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

The station allows China to accumulate crucial experience in spacewalks, docking, maintenance and effects on the body.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Workers today accumulate a pool of assets and then must decide how fast to drain it.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

Mary Fernandez started a photo album for me containing the pathetically few pictures I had managed to accumulate over the past nine years.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023