accelerate

verb

ac·​cel·​er·​ate ik-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt How to pronounce accelerate (audio)
ak-
accelerated; accelerating

intransitive verb

1
: to move faster : to gain speed
The car slowly accelerated.
The pace of change has accelerated in recent months.
2
: to progress from grade to grade more rapidly than usual : to follow a speeded-up educational program

transitive verb

1
: to bring about at an earlier time
Circumstances accelerated their departure.
2
: to cause to move faster
accelerated his steps
also : to cause to undergo acceleration
3
a
: to hasten the progress or development of
accelerate our efforts
b
: increase
accelerate food production
4
a
: to enable (a student) to complete a course in less than usual time
b
: to speed up (something, such as a course of study)

Examples of accelerate in a Sentence

She stepped on the gas and the car accelerated. The plane accelerated down the runway. She stepped on the gas and accelerated the car. He says that cutting taxes will help to accelerate economic growth. The rate of economic growth has continued to accelerate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Business leaders obtain the necessary insights to reduce carbon and material usage, accelerate CSRD compliance, and accurately measure the financial and sustainability impact of their decisions. Sophia Mendelsohn, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025 President Trump’s sweeping and severe new tariffs on more than 180 countries prompted a sell-off in stock markets in the U.S. and abroad, raising investor alarm over looming trade wars and accelerating inflation as the levies threaten to increase prices for consumers. Todd Spangler, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025 President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs Wednesday affecting all U.S. trading partners and imports, plowing ahead on a risky economic strategy that promises to further accelerate a global trade war and raise anxieties about higher consumer prices at home. Joey Garrison, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025 Dark energy is a term scientists use to describe an energy or force that accelerates the expansion of the universe. Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for accelerate

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin accelerātus, past participle of accelerāre "to add speed to, hasten the occurrence of, go quickly," from ad- ad- + celerāre "to hasten," verbal derivative of celer "swift, speedy," perhaps going back to *keli-li-/ri-, derivative from the Indo-European verbal base *kelh1- "set in motion," whence also Greek (o)kéllō, (o)kéllein "to bring (a ship, person) to shore," Lithuanian keliù, kélti "to settle (farm animals) on a different pasture," Tocharian A källāskeṃ "(they) bring," śala "(s/he) brought," Tocharian B kalṣtar "(s/he) goads, drives (animals)"

Note: This etymology largely follows D. Adams, A Dictionary of Tocharian B, Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Amsterdam/New York, 2013) and I. Seržant, "Die idg. Wurzeln *kel1- 'etw. bewegen' und *kelh3- 'sich erheben'," Indogermanische Forschungen, Band 113 (2008), pp. 59-75, though Seržant does not mention Latin celer, and Adams, presumably by mistake, switches *h1 and *h3. The reconstruction departs from Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben (2nd edition, p. 348), where a laryngeal-free base *kel- "drive, urge" (antreiben) is assumed. All the above authors also adduce Greek kélomai, kélesthai "to call out, call upon (a god), order, compel"; the "call" sense of this verb, however, may have been primary. See also clonus, hold entry 1.

First Known Use

circa 1522, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of accelerate was circa 1522

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Accelerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accelerate. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

accelerate

verb
ac·​cel·​er·​ate ik-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce accelerate (audio)
ak-
accelerated; accelerating
1
: to bring about earlier
accelerated our departure
2
: to move or cause to move faster
accelerative
-ˌrāt-iv
adjective

Medical Definition

accelerate

verb
ac·​cel·​er·​ate ik-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt, ak- How to pronounce accelerate (audio)
accelerated; accelerating

transitive verb

: to cause to move faster or speed up
accelerated speech and motor activity in manic patients
also : to cause to undergo acceleration

intransitive verb

: to move faster : gain speed

Legal Definition

accelerate

verb
ac·​cel·​er·​ate
accelerated; accelerating

transitive verb

: to bring about at an earlier time: as
a
: to advance (the maturity date of a security agreement) so that payment of the debt in full is due immediately see also acceleration clause
b
: to cause (a future interest in property) to vest by removing the preceding interests (as by failure or premature termination)

intransitive verb

: to enforce an acceleration clause
held that the creditor's right to accelerate was suspendedJ. J. White and R. S. Summers
acceleration noun

More from Merriam-Webster on accelerate

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