accumulation

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noun ac·cu·mu·la·tion \ ə-ˌkyü-m(y)ə-ˈlā-shən \

Definition of accumulation

1 :something that has accumulated or has been accumulated

an impressive accumulation of knowledge

2 :the action or process of accumulating something :the state of being or having accumulated

the steady accumulation of snow

3 :increase or growth by addition especially when continuous or repeated

accumulation of interest

See accumulation defined for kids

Examples of accumulation in a Sentence

a vast accumulation of evidence about the dangers of smoking
the accumulation of leaves on the ground is proceeding at a much faster rate than my raking

Recent Examples of accumulation from the Web

Yellow card accumulation kept Cincinnati’s main goal scorer out of the city’s biggest match.

— charlie hatch, Cincinnati.com, "2 goals in 3 minutes shatter FC Cincy's semifinal," 16 Aug. 2017
Right back Kyle Smith, who hadn't missed a minute of action and captain Paolo DelPiccolo are both suspended for the match due to yellow card accumulation.

— daniel karell, The Courier-Journal, "Watch Live: Louisville City FC at Saint Louis FC," 22 July 2017
But although amyloid accumulation appears to damage brain cells, these fibrils may be critical for reproduction.

— giorgia guglielmi, Science | AAAS, "Protein tangles behind Alzheimer’s disease may be critical for human reproduction," 11 July 2017
The Korea Herald attributes the latest delay to Samsung's lack of big data accumulation needed to assist deep learning.

— philip michaels senior editor, Fox News, "Samsung making smart speaker despite Bixby troubles," 6 July 2017
The measure also petitions the state legislature to increase the minimum wage and provide for the accumulation of sick leave time in a uniform manner for the entire state.

— alex v. hernandez, chicagotribune.com, "Franklin Park opts out of county's minimum wage ordinance," 26 June 2017
This will be a fast-moving system, exiting our region late Saturday morning, and the progressive nature of the pattern will limit rain accumulations.

— angela fritz, Washington Post, "The remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy could generate pockets of heavy rain overnight," 23 June 2017
What to expect Cindy is expected to produce massive amounts of rain with accumulations of up to 12 inches over southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

— leada gore, AL.com, "Latest beach update: Gulf remains closed to public in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Destin, Panama City," 21 June 2017
Techies come to the White House Mike Allen of Axios looks this morning at the arrival today at the White House of various tech leaders during a period where the public may be souring on their accumulation of such enormous wealth.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "The Truth About the Megyn Kelly-Alex Jones Cage Match," 19 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of accumulation

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French accumulacion, borrowed from Latin accumulātiōn-, accumulātiō, from accumulāre "to accumulate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

accumulation Synonyms

Synonyms

accretion, assemblage, collection, cumulation, cumulus, gathering, lodgment (or lodgement), pileup

Antonyms

decrease

Related Words

agglomerate, assortment, congeries, conglomerate, conglomeration, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jumble, medley, mélange, mishmash, mix, mixture, motley, potpourri; agglomeration, clutter, hash, heap, litter, mass, pile; aggregate, aggregation, sum, totality; backlog, cache, fund, hoard, inventory, kitty, nest egg, reserve, stock, stockpile, store, supply

Near Antonyms

abatement, compressing, compression, condensation, condensing, constricting, constriction, contracting, contraction, diminishing, diminishment, diminution, drop, drop-off, fall, falloff, lessening, lowering, reduction, shrinkage, shrinking; retrenching, retrenchment, shortening

ACCUMULATION Defined for Kids

accumulation

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noun ac·cu·mu·la·tion \ ə-ˌkyü-myə-ˈlā-shən \

Definition of accumulation for Students

1 :an act of collecting or gathering

the accumulation of snow

2 :collection 2

an accumulation of junk

Law Dictionary

accumulation

noun ac·cu·mu·la·tion

legal Definition of accumulation

:increase or growth by addition especially when continuous or repeated; specifically :an increase in the amount of a fund or property by the continuous addition to it of the income or interest it generates

to treat a stock dividend as principal when local law classifies it as income may be deemed an accumulation
—W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.

— see also accumulation trust at trust

Note: Because they prevent the enjoyment and benefit of wealth, accumulations are deemed contrary to public policy. A provision in a will for an accumulation will be invalidated if found to be unreasonable by the court.