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Synonyms

accumulate

American

[uh-kyoo-myuh-leyt] / 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

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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

Misfolded and defective proteins accumulate inside cells, creating stress that can damage the pancreatic cells responsible for producing insulin.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

Cancer begins when DNA errors, known as mutations, accumulate inside cells.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

With a 10% return, you could accumulate more than $100,000 by 67 if you claimed at 62.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

Among the waste products the system clears are proteins called amyloid and tau, the deposits that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Termites are even more extraordinary in the way they seem to accumulate intelligence as they gather together.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

If treated right, peat accumulates "about a millimetre a year," Jones said.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

It accumulates as a sequence rather than arriving as a coup.

From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026

In years with ample precipitation, winter snow that accumulates in the Mogollon Mountains and Black Range provides much of the river's spring runoff.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026

Barclays emphasizes that gold’s key structural drivers — U.S. consumer-price inflation and central-bank buying — are “slow-moving variables whose influence accumulates over time.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 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

The rest accumulated slowly and, for the most part, logically: lemon zest for brightness, bacon for savory crunch, avocado for cool richness.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

The researchers found that APOE2 neurons accumulated less damage to their DNA.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

We “carry the burden of approximately four billion years of accumulated mutations,” a long record of “convoluted workarounds rather than . . . definitive, streamlined solutions.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

In the 23 years since he graduated from Norfolk Collegiate High School, Truelove has accumulated more than 40 charges and citations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

His big hand wiped the small beads of sweat that had accumulated on his brow.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

"Not only that, evidence has been accumulating that it also raises the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and mental illness," says Kang Mo-yeol, professor of occupational medicine at the Catholic University of Korea.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

While retirement planning often focuses on accumulating assets, the researchers argue that advisers and retirees should also pay close attention to future liabilities, particularly the essential expenses that are almost certain to occur.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

In Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies, tau proteins begin accumulating inside nerve cells.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

By accumulating points, users could potentially secure World Cup tickets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

There were little white things falling out of the sky, and they seemed to be accumulating on the ground.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

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