Synonyms

accumulate

American

[uh-kyoo-myuh-layt] / əˈkju mjəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

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

to accumulate wealth.

verb (used without object)

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

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Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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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” ( see cumulus ( def. )) + -āre, infinitive verb suffix

Explanation

To accumulate means to gather, usually in large quantities. Let's hope your boyfriend is not the type to accumulate girlfriends. The root of accumulate is cumulus which means "mound" or "heap." You might have heard of cumulus clouds, those big fluffy clouds that look like giant piles of whipped cream. Think of these heaping helpings of clouds when you think of accumulate. The money in your savings account accumulates interest, though these days you won't accumulate much wealth that way! Police accumulate evidence until they have enough to charge someone with a crime.

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Vocabulary lists containing accumulate

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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:

accumulate accumulates accumulated accumulating

Plaques are abnormal deposits of a protein called amyloid beta that accumulate between brain cells, while tangles are twisted forms of the tau protein that develop inside neurons.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

Eventually, enough energy can accumulate to create additional charged particles.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Rather than continuing to accumulate young talent around their lone lottery picks, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, they decided they were ready to accelerate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Under the proposal, workers would need to have a total of 20 years in physically demanding jobs throughout their careers or to accumulate 15 points over the years worked in such a job.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

The song “Rattlin’ Bog” has a refrain with verses that accumulate.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Typically, having an estate plan becomes more important after someone gets married, has children or accumulates assets around which there could be confusion if something happened to the person.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Atsukuni Tabata, 56, who works at an advertising company, said it was "scary" not knowing what AI would do as it "accumulates more and more data".

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

History accumulates faster than collective memory can accommodate it.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Where body fat accumulates can be important for health, which is one reason waist circumference can provide information that BMI alone does not capture.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

Many of the textbook examples become intelligible when the little words are restored: The horse which was raced past the barn fell; Fat which people eat accumulates.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

It called on roughly witnesses and accumulated more than 7,000 pages of evidence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Radcliff had accumulated about $16,000 in cash from scholarships paid directly to him, in addition to his full ride at Tulane.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

The pattern suggests that cardiovascular benefits accumulated during GLP-1 treatment can be lost relatively quickly once the medication is discontinued.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

"Fifa currently holds billions of dollars in accumulated reserves," it read.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The national points standing list included points accumulated at both domestic and international competitions.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

"During hibernation, bears do not eat or drink and lose one-third of their body weight. Their winter survival depends on accumulating ample fat reserves before entering the den," organisers wrote.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Known in Los Angeles art circles for his vast collection of African art and legendary dinner parties, Ernest “Ernie” Wolfe III has spent a lifetime accumulating art, friends and stories.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

That trend has prompted researchers to investigate a provocative possibility: Are younger generations accumulating biological damage more quickly, causing their bodies to age faster than expected?

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

Records tumbled in overheated basins like the Atlantic and Mediterranean and also the tropical Pacific, where the strongest El Nino weather pattern in the modern era is fast accumulating strength.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Matt had added a few more crumbs to the stash of information he was accumulating about this new world in which he found himself.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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