decelerate

play

verb de·cel·er·ate \ (ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt \

Definition of decelerate

decelerated; decelerating

transitive verb

1 :to reduce the speed of :slow down

decelerate a car

2 :to decrease the rate of progress of

decelerate growth

decelerate soil erosion

intransitive verb

:to move at decreasing speed

—

deceleration

play \(ˌ)dē-ˌse-lə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

—

decelerator

play \(ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-rā-tər\ noun

See decelerate defined for English-language learners

See decelerate defined for kids

Examples of decelerate in a Sentence

she decelerated the car as we entered the school zone

Recent Examples of decelerate from the Web

The boats will hit turns at upwards of 130 mph, make a sharp 90-degree turn in places, generate g-forces of up to five times standard gravity and decelerate to about 90 mph before resuming top speed in about 150 yards.

— steve bittenbender, The Courier-Journal, "Inaugural Louisville Regatta Grand Prix kicks off Saturday," 18 Aug. 2017
This should stabilize home prices or at least decelerate the increases.

— phillip molnar, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Will Prop. 13 changes make home prices go up?," 21 July 2017
The cold category includes iced coffee, cold brew and nitro cold brew, which is helping Starbucks combat decelerating U.S. growth.

— leslie patton, chicagotribune.com, "Starbucks' latest bid to perk up sales growth: On-tap coffee," 13 July 2017
On most modern tracks, if a drawbridge is not locked in place an engineer would likely see a flashing yellow light, followed by a solid yellow light, and be decelerating before approaching the red stop signal a couple minutes later, Elliott said.

— mike lindblom, The Seattle Times, "Speed, human error blamed for Amtrak derailment near Chambers Bay," 6 July 2017
OTTAWA—Inflation in Canada decelerated in May on lower costs for electricity, clothing and food, potentially cooling chatter in financial markets about an imminent interest-rate increase from the Bank of Canada.

— paul vieira, WSJ, "Canada Inflation Slows in May," 23 June 2017
Demand for workers has decelerated in recent years as economic growth slows down, said Bai Peiwen, an economics professor at Xiamen University.

— Bloomberg.com, "China's Workers are Saying Goodbye to Double-Digit Pay Raises," 19 June 2017
The bond market is signaling the Federal Reserve may be committing a policy error by continuing to raise its policy rate in the face of below-target—and decelerating—inflation.

— luke kawa, Bloomberg.com, "Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day," 15 June 2017
Chinese consumer and producer price data for April, expected to decelerate to annual paces of 5.6 and -1 percent, respectively.

— luke kawa, Bloomberg.com, "Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day," 8 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of decelerate

de- + accelerate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1899

See Words from the same year

decelerate Synonyms

Synonyms

brake, slow, retard, slacken

Antonyms

accelerate, hasten, hurry, quicken, rush, speed (up), step up

Related Words

halt, stop; encumber, hamper, handicap, hinder, hobble, hold back, hold up, impede, inhibit, obstruct, set back, tie up; bottleneck; arrest, check, constrain, curb, rein, restrain; baffle, foil, frustrate, sabotage, thwart

Near Antonyms

drive, encourage, goad, propel, push, spur, stir, urge; advance, aid, dispatch, ease, expedite, facilitate, forward, further, help

DECELERATE Defined for English Language Learners

decelerate

play

verb

Definition of decelerate for English Language Learners

: to move slower : to lose speed
: to cause (something) to happen more slowly

DECELERATE Defined for Kids

decelerate

play

verb de·cel·er·ate \ dē-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt \

Definition of decelerate for Students

decelerated; decelerating

:to slow down

The car decelerated at the yellow light.

Medical Dictionary

decelerate

play

verb de·cel·er·ate \ (ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt \

medical Definition of decelerate

decelerated; decelerating

transitive verb

:to reduce the speed of :slow down

intransitive verb

:to move at decreasing speed

—

deceleration

play \(ˌ)dē-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

Learn More about decelerate

See words that rhyme with decelerate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for decelerate Spanish Central: Translation of decelerate Nglish: Translation of decelerate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of decelerate for Arabic speakers

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decelerate

Definition of decelerate

deceleration

decelerator

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Examples of decelerate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of decelerate from the Web

Origin and Etymology of decelerate

decelerate Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

DECELERATE Defined for English Language Learners

decelerate

Definition of decelerate for English Language Learners

DECELERATE Defined for Kids

decelerate

Definition of decelerate for Students

Medical Dictionary

decelerate

medical Definition of decelerate

deceleration

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