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

The revised powertrain is intended to deliver stronger acceleration, while the advertised top speed increases from approximately 56 mph to 59 mph. — New Atlas, 2 Nov. 2026

Torque had to be reduced from 505 ft lbs to 461 ft lbs to go easy on the gearbox, but the regular 503 horses were all there, and the thrill of shifting yourself was enough to make up for a slight acceleration deficit versus the regular car. — Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 30 Oct. 2026

Those versions weren’t considered quite sufficient for our roads, so Nissan retuned the system for the Rogue Hybrid to be able to cope with harder acceleration and bigger vehicles. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2026

That pace of selling saw the biggest acceleration of any price segment. — Robert Ferris, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2026

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

Rhymes for acceleration

• abbreviation
• abomination
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration
• affiliation

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