accumulate

American  

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

verb (used with object)

accumulated, accumulating

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

   to accumulate wealth.

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verb (used without object)

accumulated, accumulating

1. 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

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

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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

Across the Sierra Nevada, heavy snowfall is forecast to accumulate all week, with 3 to 5 feet possible.

From Los Angeles Times

The country still runs a sizable current-account surplus—roughly $500-700 billion—but instead of accumulating in official reserves, those savings are being deployed abroad by firms, households, and financial institutions.

From Barron's

A large population-based study examined whether the way people accumulate their daily steps affects their long-term health, regardless of how many total steps they take.

From Science Daily

While ALS is one of the more complex neurodegenerative diseases, researchers are increasingly confident that anyone can develop the disease if they accumulate—or are exposed to—enough factors to reach a tipping point.

From The Wall Street Journal

Not a manifesto, not a rigid curriculum — just 26 tiny habits, discoveries and delights that accumulate into a richer cooking life.

From Salon

Related Words

• accrue
• acquire
• add to
• assemble
• collect
• compile
• concentrate
• expand
• gain
• grow
• hoard
• increase
• pile up
• rack up
• swell