decelerate

verb

de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt 

decelerated; decelerating

transitive verb

1

: to reduce the speed of : slow down

decelerate a car

2

: to decrease the rate of progress of

decelerate growth

decelerate soil erosion

intransitive verb

: to move at decreasing speed

deceleration

(ˌ)dē-ˌse-lə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

decelerator

(ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-rā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• brake
• retard
• slacken
• slow

Examples of decelerate in a Sentence

she decelerated the car as we entered the school zone

Recent Examples on the Web

Analysts at Wedbush wrote in a Tuesday note that while Shopify’s first-quarter guide was in line with the firm’s estimates, the outlook implies that year-over-year revenue growth will decelerate to the mid-20% range from 31% growth in the fourth quarter. —Annie Palmer, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2025

Fighting Back Against Landslides The city notes that the landslide has decelerated since October 2024 due to drier weather conditions and the dewatering wells. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 4 Feb. 2025

Analysts argue that while tech earnings may decelerate in the future, their contribution will still be significant. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 27 Jan. 2025

Year-on-year total PPI accelerated to 3.3% from 3.0%, while core PPI decelerated modestly to 3.3% from 3.5%. —Jason Schenker, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

de- + accelerate

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

decelerate

verb

de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt 

decelerated; decelerating

: to move or cause to move at decreasing speed : slow down

deceleration

(ˌ)dē-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

decelerator

(ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

decelerate

verb

de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt 

decelerated; decelerating

transitive verb

: to reduce the speed of : slow down

intransitive verb

: to move at decreasing speed

deceleration

(ˌ)dē-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun