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

Iran’s nuclear efforts are another weapon in its arsenal, and Tehran accelerates, decelerates, and even occasionally abandons its program in response to changing conditions. —Jon B. Alterman, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2024

The latest numbers show an increasingly positive narrative: decelerating inflation, no recession in sight, and surprisingly strong job growth. —Jacob Turcotte, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Feb. 2024

The government reported Friday that prices rose 0.3% from January to February, decelerating from a 0.4% increase the previous month in a potentially encouraging trend for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. —Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024

Yet, decelerated growth and climbing interest rates have disrupted last year's private deal activity, showing a few cracks in the market. —Christian Oberbeck, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

The first — seen currently the most likely — is a soft landing with muted real growth and decelerating inflation. —Farah Elbahrawy, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2024

However, the report warned the field was expected to decelerate as the industry reaches economic maturity. —The Arizona Republic, 24 Feb. 2024

The Americas also decelerated throughout the year to end with an 8% decline in revenues from 2022. —Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024

Were people just not getting how good the economy really was – as inflation decelerated even while jobs continued to grow? —Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Feb. 2024

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