accelerator

noun

ac·​cel·​er·​a·​tor ik-ˈse-lə-ˌrā-tər 

ak-

plural accelerators

: one that accelerates: such as

a

: a muscle or nerve that speeds the performance of an action

b

: a device (such as a gas pedal) for increasing the speed of a motor vehicle engine

c

: a substance that speeds a chemical reaction

d

: an apparatus for imparting high velocities to charged particles (such as electrons)

e

: an item of computer hardware that increases the speed at which a program or function operates

a graphics accelerator

Examples of accelerator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The entrepreneurs also meet in person, and the program participants come from universities and accelerators all over the world. — Barbara Bry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 July 2026

On the memory front, Samsung will support Broadcom’s next generation AI accelerators, the company said. — Hooyeon Kim, Fortune, 25 July 2026

Supply of data center CPUs can't keep up with demand as agentic workloads increase the number of CPUs needed relative to AI accelerators (like Nvidia's GPUs and Google's in-house TPUs). — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 24 July 2026

Prosecutors say Garcia actually hit the accelerator before ramming into the tree, instead of the brakes. — Jazmin Alvarado, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

accelerate + -or entry 1

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing accelerator

• accelerator mass spectrometry
• linear accelerator
• particle accelerator

Rhymes for accelerator

• accumulator
• adjudicator
• administrator
• appropriator
• articulator
• attenuator
• bronchodilator
• collaborator
• communicator
• conciliator
• cooperator
• coordinator

Kids Definition

accelerator

noun

ac·​cel·​er·​a·​tor ik-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt-ər 

ak-

1

: one that accelerates

2

: a device (as a pedal) in a motor vehicle used to control the speed of the motor

3

: a device that is used to give high velocities to charged particles (as electrons and protons)

Medical Definition

accelerator

noun

ac·​cel·​er·​a·​tor ik-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt-ər, ak- 

: one that accelerates: as

a

: a muscle or nerve that speeds the performance of an action

a cardiac accelerator

b

: a substance that speeds a chemical reaction

c

: an apparatus for imparting high velocities to charged particles (as electrons)