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

If not, should the seller negotiate for acceleration? —Allbusiness, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025

The company's acceleration of store closures comes as big-box stores struggle, with fewer shoppers visiting malls and more Americans purchasing essentials online, a shift that occurred during the pandemic. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2025

Monitoring China's 'Monster Ship' North Korea Fires Hypersonic Missile in First Weapons Test of 2025 The new estimate represents an acceleration of 100 years compared to last year's projection, the center said. —Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025

Performance-wise, there's anti-squat under acceleration, anti-dive under brakes, and anti-roll in hard, fast cornering. —New Atlas, 9 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