accelerate

verb

ac·cel·er·ate | \ -lə-ˌrāt

accelerated; accelerating

Definition of accelerate

intransitive verb

1 : to move faster : to gain speed The car slowly accelerated. The pace of change has accelerated in recent months.

2 : to progress from grade to grade more rapidly than usual : to follow a speeded-up educational program

transitive verb

1 : to bring about at an earlier time Circumstances accelerated their departure.

2 : to cause to move faster accelerated his steps also : to cause to undergo acceleration

3a : to hasten the progress or development of accelerate our efforts

b : increase accelerate food production

4a : to enable (a student) to complete a course in less than usual time

b : to speed up (something, such as a course of study)

Other Words from accelerate Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about accelerate

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Examples of accelerate in a Sentence

She stepped on the gas and the car accelerated. The plane accelerated down the runway. She stepped on the gas and accelerated the car. He says that cutting taxes will help to accelerate economic growth. The rate of economic growth has continued to accelerate.

Recent Examples on the Web

Growth in private hours worked, a better gauge of business labor demand, actually accelerated. — Greg Ip, WSJ, "The World Seems to Have Dodged Recession, for Now," 5 Apr. 2019 Investigators also concluded that no one had been wearing a seat belt and that Jen had accelerated the car before going off the cliff. — Lauren Smiley, Glamour, "Sarah Hart Was ‘Intoxicated’: Everything We’ve Learned So Far About the Hart Family From the Coroner’s Inquest," 5 Apr. 2019 And then it was revealed that some 50 million users may have had their name, email address, occupation, and age exposed to third-party developers, which accelerated its demise. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "No joke, Google is killing off the Pixel 2, Inbox, goo.gl URL shortener, and Google+ this week," 1 Apr. 2019 The number slowed briefly in 2017 shortly after Trump became president, but has accelerated this year, prompting the Trump administration's crackdown. — Daniel González, azcentral, "Trump administration is separating migrant parents from children. What you need to know," 15 June 2018 Since Pulse — at the time, the deadliest shooting in U.S. history by a single gunman — the madness has accelerated across the nation. Mass shootings — in which at least four people are killed — have taken the lives of 325 people in those two years. — Kate Santich, OrlandoSentinel.com, "2 years after Pulse: nightmares, resolve, hope," 8 June 2018 All of that can accelerate the feelings of isolation and self-doubt that are already so ripe during those years. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "Michelle Obama on Facing Criticism, Life After the White House, and Advice for Meghan Markle," 3 Dec. 2018 The fundamental purpose, the fundamental good that Tesla provides is accelerating the advent of sustainable transport and energy production. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Full Q&A: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Recode Decode," 2 Nov. 2018 My heart accelerated through all the scenes of waiting, by the phone and at the doctor's office, the shots, the treatment plans, the maybe, maybe, maybes, and sorry, sorry, sorrys. — Elissa Strauss, Glamour, "This Netflix Movie Perfectly Pinpoints What's So Maddening About IVF," 11 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accelerate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for accelerate

borrowed from Latin accelerātus, past participle of accelerāre "to add speed to, hasten the occurrence of, go quickly," from ad- ad- + celerāre "to hasten," verbal derivative of celer "swift, speedy," perhaps going back to *keli-li-/ri-, derivative from the Indo-European base of Greek kélomai, kelésthai "urge, exhort," kelēt-, kélēs "swift horse, charger"