accumulate
verb (used with object)
to gather or collect, often in gradual degrees; heap up.
was accumulating
-
past progressiveof accumulate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
The garbage was accumulating a little too fast.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
In 2013, Grace denied that her husband was accumulating wealth while in office, saying her husband did not earn as much as people thought as he was a civil servant.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
Among her financial coups was accumulating devalued U.S. currency, the original greenbacks, issued during the Civil War.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
According to the victims' lawyers, BHP was aware that toxic sludge was accumulating at at the facility in Minas Gerais state north of Rio de Janeiro at rates that far exceeded the annual limit.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025
As a result, said Mundie, “a huge amount of data and creativity was accumulating in all those computers,” but there was no easy, interoperable way to share it and mold it.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
