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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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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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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

It helped Invesco’s QQQ Trust accumulate roughly half a trillion dollars in assets and become the biggest fund tracking the index.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

“I’m mad. To take from these men who are working so hard for me, who’ve tried to accumulate all these tools. ... My heart felt so heavy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Water ice helped the smallest particles stick together, allowing them to gradually accumulate into larger bodies.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

Research has found that small, consistent contributions to investment accounts over a lifetime are a reliable way to accumulate wealth, even for low earners.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

The galleries are clear, at least until trash begins to accumulate.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

It is a severe form of fatty liver disease in which excess fat accumulates in the liver, causing inflammation and cellular damage.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

NPH is a brain disorder in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain’s ventricles, according to the Alzheimer’s Assn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

In the former, a claim becomes more credible as evidence accumulates.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

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

Rather, it accumulates in the bones and blood–that’s what makes it so dangerous–and neither bone nor blood was tested.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

They accumulated significant wealth from slavery through the ownership of plantations in the West Indies and South America.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

Grocery shopping requires accumulated knowledge of ingredients, cooking, nutrition, family preferences and the mysterious geography of supermarkets.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

The restrainers mean the liberal-arts college: the Anglo-American institution that imparts to students the accumulated knowledge of mankind, teaching them to think in the process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Officers investigating Sperino's murder realised AI could help them wade through the mountains of evidence they had accumulated since 1993.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

What if the current forms of animals were also the consequence of natural forces that had accumulated over millennia?

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

“Consider some familiar examples of poor decisions: accumulating credit-card debt or failing to plan for retirement.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Heavy rain in Scotland may cause some localised flooding with a Met Office yellow warning for 20-40mm of rain forecast with up to 80mm accumulating in a few areas through Friday.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Pittsburgh’s star was shortstop Honus Wagner; pitching for Boston was Cy Young, who was on his way to accumulating a major-league record 511 victories between 1890 and 1911.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Once researchers understood the role of GFAP, their next challenge was finding a way to reduce its production and prevent damaging levels of the protein from accumulating in brain cells.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

She could see the simple sentences, the accumulating telepathic symbols, unfurling at the nibs end.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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