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

On highways and surface roads in the rural countryside west of Detroit, the 2025 Ford Explorer was smooth and quiet, with plenty of power for highway acceleration. —Mark Phelan, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025

Since the current engines debuted, the cars have had push to pass that gives them up to 120 seconds of overboost to use during the course of a race much as the F1 drag reduction system helps provide a bit more acceleration and speed for passing maneuvers. —Sam Abuelsamid, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Rapp, after initially running downhill, misjudged Henry’s acceleration and overall speed, which turned it into a mad dash. —Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025

Altman’s World venture aims to authenticate actual humans on its network given the acceleration of the number of threats from artificial intelligence, such as deepfakes. —Tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025

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