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acceleration

noun ac·cel·er·a·tion \ ik-ˌse-lə-ˈrā-shən , (ˌ)ak- \
|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

Definition of acceleration

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

See acceleration defined for English-language learners

See acceleration defined for kids

Examples of acceleration in a Sentence

  1. The car delivers quick acceleration.

  2. There has been some acceleration in economic growth.

  3. There has been an acceleration in economic growth.

Recent Examples of acceleration from the Web

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

Origin and Etymology of acceleration

borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French acceleratiun, borrowed from Latin accelerātiōn-, accelerātiō, from accelerāre "to accelerate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase, quantum

ACCELERATION Defined for Kids

acceleration

noun ac·cel·er·a·tion \ ak-ˌse-lə-ˈrā-shən \

Definition of acceleration for Students

: the act or process of speeding up

Medical Dictionary

acceleration

noun ac·cel·er·a·tion \ ik-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən, (ˌ)ak- \

medical Definition of acceleration

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

Learn More about acceleration

  1. See words that rhyme with acceleration Spanish Central: Translation of acceleration Nglish: Translation of acceleration for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of acceleration for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about acceleration

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