cumulate

American  

[kyoo-myuh-leyt, kyoo-myuh-lit, -leyt] / ˈkyu myəˌleɪt, ˈkyu myə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

cumulated, cumulating

1. to heap up; amass; accumulate.

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adjective

1. heaped up.

cumulate British  

verb

1. to accumulate

2. (tr) to combine (two or more sequences) into one

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adjective

1. heaped up

Other Word Forms

• cumulately adverb
• cumulation noun
• decumulate verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of cumulate

1525–35; < Latin cumulātus (past participle of cumulāre to heap up, pile up, accumulate), equivalent to cumul ( us ) a heap, pile, mass, cumulus + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

During sleep, brain cells produce bursts of electrical pulses that cumulate into rhythmic waves -- a sign of heightened brain cell function.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2024

Peters, B. J., Day, J. M. D. & Taylor, L. A. Early mantle heterogeneities in the Réunion hotspot source inferred from highly siderophile elements in cumulate xenoliths.

From Nature • Feb. 27, 2018

Why may there not be different points of view for surveying it, within each of which all data harmonize, and which the observer may therefore either choose between, or simply cumulate one upon another?

From The Will to Believe : and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by James, William

The elector is given as many votes as there are members to be elected, which he may cumulate upon any one or distribute among several candidates.

From Proportional Representation A Study in Methods of Election by Humphreys, John H.

In like manner it is held that within the mind processes cumulate and rise to a certain height before they cross the threshold of consciousness.

From The Nature of Goodness by Palmer, George Herbert