accelerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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accelerates,
present (3rd person singular)
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accelerated,
past participle, past
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accelerating
present participle
-
to cause faster or greater activity, development, progress, advancement, etc., in.
to accelerate economic growth.
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to hasten the occurrence of.
to accelerate the fall of a government.
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Mechanics. to change the velocity of (a body) or the rate of (motion); cause to undergo acceleration.
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to reduce the time required for (a course of study) by intensifying the work, eliminating detail, etc.
verb (used without object)
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accelerates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
accelerated,
past participle, past
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accelerating
present participle
-
to move or go faster; increase in speed.
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to progress or develop faster.
verb
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to go, occur, or cause to go or occur more quickly; speed up
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(tr) to cause to happen sooner than expected
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(tr) to increase the velocity of (a body, reaction, etc); cause acceleration
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overaccelerateverb
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reaccelerateverb
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accelerableadjective
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accelerativeadjective
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self-acceleratingadjective
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unacceleratedadjective
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acceleratedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acceleratesimple
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acceleratessimple
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have acceleratedperfect
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has acceleratedperfect
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am acceleratingprogressive
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are acceleratingprogressive
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is acceleratingprogressive
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have been acceleratingperfect progressive
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has been acceleratingperfect progressive
Past
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acceleratedsimple
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had acceleratedperfect
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was acceleratingprogressive
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were acceleratingprogressive
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had been acceleratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of accelerate
First recorded in 1515–25; from Latin accelerātus “sped up,” past participle of accelerāre “to speed up,” from ac- ac- + celerāre “to hasten, hurry” (from celer “swift”)
Explanation
Accelerate means to speed up. A car accelerates when you step on the gas. You can accelerate the process of getting a visa if you happen to know someone who works in the consulate. The fastest Amtrak trains are called the Acela line, a made-up word intended to suggest accelerate and therefore communicate that these trains are fast. If you are standing close to one when it zooms by, you may find yourself having an accelerated heart rate — they move pretty fast!
Vocabulary lists containing accelerate
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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Holes
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2
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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:
“We have got good momentum, but to accelerate innovation and win over the next few years, we needed to become a more agile and efficient organization,” Squeri said in a conference call with analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
NHS England said it was looking at ways to accelerate roll out weight-loss drugs, but was currently “rightly prioritising these treatments for those with the most severe and complex needs“.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Mizuho analyst Ben Chaiken slashed his price target in half, warning that the amusement park operator needs to accelerate operations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Dan Levy, an analyst at Barclays, thinks a merger would help the pair accelerate their work on the Terafab and give Musk greater control on his road to creating what some call “Elon, Inc.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
But to accelerate his progress, she began to speak to him in Spanish, coaxed him to take up his text, and tutored him, and within a short while he was receiving high grades.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Meanwhile, as AI use accelerates, the world's most populous nation has rolled out incentives to attract big tech companies, including tax cuts.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
A catalyst is a substance that accelerates a chemical reaction without being permanently changed in the process, Stylianou said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Slowing wage growth even as inflation accelerates is a sign that workers are having a hard time moving up to better-paying jobs, even if outright unemployment is low,” Adams of Fifth Third said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
Fast, accurate feedback accelerates innovation by quantifying what does and doesn’t work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Today, the number two train accelerates to over 40 miles an hour as it rumbles toward the Chambers Street express stop.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Romania is looking into "accelerated development of maritime surveillance capabilities, mine countermeasures and effective countermeasures against drones that intrude unauthorised into national airspace and territorial waters", the presidency said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
He credited the experience and dedication of the Wave Neuroscience team with helping make that accelerated progress possible.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
South Korean exports accelerated in September, topping $120 billion for the first time, as semiconductor shipments more than tripled from a year earlier to a record high.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
The pace of UK price rises accelerated ahead of John Healey's first Budget, pushed up by sharp increases in petrol and diesel prices.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The answer is that when our unconscious engages in thin-slicing, what we are doing is an automated, accelerated unconscious version of what Gottman does with his videotapes and equations.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Research by the Rutgers team and other scientists has since demonstrated that these tools can damage and corrode titanium surfaces, potentially releasing additional particles and accelerating the disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Institutional heavyweights like hedge funds are accelerating the trend.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
DeepSeek is accelerating its IPO timeline, aiming for a Shanghai listing early next year, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
"The government will continue to improve the conditions for investment in Germany -- for example by reducing bureaucracy, accelerating the approval process and enhancing infrastructure," Merz said on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
In Jackson Park everyone became caught up in the accelerating pace of construction.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
