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.

Over the following weeks, they made a number of visits to the casino - reportedly the Crown on Sydney's waterfront - and accumulated winnings totalling A$1,179,412.50.

From BBC

When these deep waters rise again, they deliver this accumulated acidity back to the surface, where the water interacts with atmospheric CO2 and becomes even more acidic.

From Science Daily

"This may be achieved once more data is accumulated, and if so, it would provide even stronger evidence that the gamma rays originate from dark matter," said Totani.

From Science Daily

Kenya -- one of east Africa's largest economies -- has accumulated more than $92.4 billion in debt, roughly 67 percent of its gross domestic product.

From Barron's

He doesn’t actually understand the corporate world but treats it like a game, filling out forms, writing anodyne requests to lawyers and other middlemen, steadily accumulating positions in public companies.

From The Wall Street Journal

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