# accelerate

Pronunciation: US say "ik-SEL-uh-rayt" /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/; UK say "uhk-SEL-uh-rayt" /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/

## Verb

1. To gain speed; to begin moving more quickly.
   - Simple: To start moving faster, or to keep gaining speed.
   - _The train accelerated smoothly out of the station._
   - _As traffic thinned, the bus began to accelerate._
2. To cause something to move faster; to add to the speed of a moving object.
   - Simple: To make something move faster, or to add to its speed.
   - _A tailwind can accelerate a sailboat well beyond its usual pace._
   - _The pilot accelerated the aircraft down the runway._
3. To quicken the natural or ordinary course of a process.
   - Simple: To make a process happen faster than it normally would.
   - _Higher temperatures accelerate the chemical reactions inside the battery._
   - _The new policy accelerated the decline of the old industry._
4. To cause an event to happen sooner than it otherwise would; to hasten its occurrence.
   - Simple: To make an event happen sooner than expected.
   - _Her resignation accelerated the leadership contest._
   - _Mounting pressure can accelerate the calling of an election._
5. To cause something to change its velocity: that is, its speed, its direction of motion, or both.
   - Simple: To make something speed up, slow down, or change the direction it is moving.
   - _Strong magnets can accelerate charged particles to extremely high speeds._
   - _The pull of gravity accelerates a falling object toward the ground._
6. To grow or increase, especially at an increasing rate.
   - Simple: To grow or increase, often more and more quickly.
   - _Inflation accelerated sharply during the final quarter._
   - _Membership numbers continue to accelerate year after year._
7. To enable a student to complete a course of study in less than the usual time.
   - Simple: To help a student finish their studies in less time than usual.
   - _Special programs can accelerate motivated students toward early graduation._
   - _The school accelerated the twins through the curriculum after they tested ahead._

## Adjective

8. Made to move or happen faster; sped up or hurried. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Sped up, or made to go or happen faster.

## Origin

First attested in the 1520s. It comes either from Latin accelerātus, the past participle of accelerō ("to accelerate, hasten"), formed from ad plus celerō ("to hasten"), which derives from celer ("quick"); or it may be a back-formation from acceleration.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/accelerate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).