acceleration

noun

ac·​cel·​er·​a·​tion ik-ˌse-lə-ˈrā-shən 

(ˌ)ak-

1

a

: the act or process of moving faster or happening more quickly : the act or process of accelerating

rapid acceleration

the acceleration of economic growth

b

: ability to accelerate

a car with good acceleration

2

physics : the rate of change of velocity with respect to time

broadly : change of velocity

Examples of acceleration in a Sentence

The car delivers quick acceleration.

There has been some acceleration in economic growth.

There has been an acceleration in economic growth.

Recent Examples on the Web

Avoid sudden braking or acceleration, and be especially cautious on hills or when making turns. —Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2025

Trump also announced Project Stargate, a program with an initial $100 billion AI acceleration investment in partnership with the some of the world's largest tech companies, including OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025

Polaris All Slingshot models will see powertrain changes that increase horsepower slightly and broaden the torque curve to deliver better acceleration. —Aaron Turpen, New Atlas, 1 Feb. 2025

Overall, personal income grew 0.4% in December, marking a slight acceleration from the 0.3% gain seen the month before, according to Friday’s report. —Alicia Wallace, CNN, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French acceleratiun, borrowed from Latin accelerātiōn-, accelerātiō, from accelerāre "to accelerate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing acceleration

• acceleration of gravity
• acceleration principle
• angular acceleration

Kids Definition

acceleration

noun

ac·​cel·​er·​a·​tion ik-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən 

ak-

1

: the act or process of accelerating : the state of being accelerated

2

: the rate of change of velocity with respect to time

also : change in velocity

Medical Definition

acceleration

noun

ac·​cel·​er·​a·​tion ik-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən, (ˌ)ak- 

1

: the act or process of accelerating : the state of being accelerated

2

: change of velocity

also : the rate of this change

3

: advancement in mental growth or achievement beyond the average for one's age