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)

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

In a perfect short-term scenario, injured right-hander Yu Darvish hopes to accelerate his throwing program by next weekend. — Mark Gonzales, chicagotribune.com, "Cubs in the hunt for pitching help — regardless of Yu Darvish's status," 14 July 2018 Instead, Poland’s nationalist government appears set to accelerate its clash with Brussels, which worries the country is removing one of the few checks on the ruling party’s power and shifting towards authoritarian populism. — Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, "Poland Steps Up Supreme Court Purge," 13 July 2018 In recent years, that’s encouraged local governments to accelerate the sale of urban industrial land for housing development. — Fortune, "This Is London's Hottest Property — Thanks to Amazon," 13 July 2018 The group’s mission is to accelerate academic scientific progress and facilitate public engagement with the scientific process. — Marissa Fessenden, Smithsonian, "Scientific Images Make Dazzling Art In a Duke University Exhibit," 12 July 2018 Trump said Germany agreed to accelerate its defense spending increases. — Author: Michael Birnbaum, Philip Rucker, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump demands immediate spending increases by NATO nations or he will ‘do his own thing’," 12 July 2018 Denied by Mrs Merkel, Mr Seehofer resigned, unresigned, huffed and puffed, and finally struck a compromise to accelerate screening procedures which, by one measure, might apply to fewer than ten migrants a day. — The Economist, "How policy debates in Europe become untethered from reality," 12 July 2018 With her collaboration, the brand's growth is expected to accelerate even more. — Joelle Goldstein, The Hollywood Reporter, "Oprah Winfrey Invests in Healthy Restaurant Chain True Food Kitchen," 11 July 2018 Both Nelson and Scott have claimed some credit for $500 million from hurricane recovery funds that the Corps is setting aside to accelerate repairs to Okeechobee's dike. — Jennifer Kay, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Blue-green algae, red tide soil beaches, threaten Florida tourism," 10 July 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"