accelerate

verb

ac·​cel·​er·​ate ik-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt How to pronounce accelerate (audio)
ak-
accelerated; accelerating
Synonyms of accelerate

intransitive verb

1
: to move faster : to gain speed
The car slowly accelerated.
The pace of change has accelerated in recent months.
2
: to progress from grade to grade more rapidly than usual : to follow a speeded-up educational program

transitive verb

1
: to bring about at an earlier time
Circumstances accelerated their departure.
2
: to cause to move faster
accelerated his steps
also : to cause to undergo acceleration
3
a
: to hasten the progress or development of
accelerate our efforts
b
: increase
accelerate food production
4
a
: to enable (a student) to complete a course in less than usual time
b
: to speed up (something, such as a course of study)

Synonyms of accelerate

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Examples of accelerate in a Sentence

She stepped on the gas and the car accelerated. The plane accelerated down the runway. She stepped on the gas and accelerated the car. He says that cutting taxes will help to accelerate economic growth. The rate of economic growth has continued to accelerate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While PennDOT already has created over 30 wildlife crossings, the establishment of the new cohesive group of state agency stakeholders is likely to accelerate building the safe animal passageways and reverse the high collision rate with motorists. — Noël Fletcher, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026 Japan launched a strategy in 1992 to win the World Cup within 100 years, a timeline that would surely be accelerated without Europe, which has stood in their way in three of their five knockout matches. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026 The most important way that European landscapes are changing is that unprecedented numbers of people are leaving rural areas, a phenomenon that has accelerated in the last fifty years. — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026 The analysis also found that China’s innovation has accelerated rapidly over the past decade. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for accelerate

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin accelerātus, past participle of accelerāre "to add speed to, hasten the occurrence of, go quickly," from ad- ad- + celerāre "to hasten," verbal derivative of celer "swift, speedy," perhaps going back to *keli-li-/ri-, derivative from the Indo-European verbal base *kelh1- "set in motion," whence also Greek (o)kéllō, (o)kéllein "to bring (a ship, person) to shore," Lithuanian keliù, kélti "to settle (farm animals) on a different pasture," Tocharian A källāskeṃ "(they) bring," śala "(s/he) brought," Tocharian B kalṣtar "(s/he) goads, drives (animals)"

Note: This etymology largely follows D. Adams, A Dictionary of Tocharian B, Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Amsterdam/New York, 2013) and I. Seržant, "Die idg. Wurzeln *kel1- 'etw. bewegen' und *kelh3- 'sich erheben'," Indogermanische Forschungen, Band 113 (2008), pp. 59-75, though Seržant does not mention Latin celer, and Adams, presumably by mistake, switches *h1 and *h3. The reconstruction departs from Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben (2nd edition, p. 348), where a laryngeal-free base *kel- "drive, urge" (antreiben) is assumed. All the above authors also adduce Greek kélomai, kélesthai "to call out, call upon (a god), order, compel"; the "call" sense of this verb, however, may have been primary. See also clonus, hold entry 1.

First Known Use

circa 1522, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of accelerate was circa 1522

Rhymes for accelerate

See All Rhymes for accelerate

Browse Nearby Words

accelerant
accelerate
accelerated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Accelerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accelerate. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

accelerate

verb
ac·​cel·​er·​ate ik-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce accelerate (audio)
ak-
accelerated; accelerating
1
: to bring about earlier
accelerated our departure
2
: to move or cause to move faster
accelerative
-ˌrāt-iv
adjective

Medical Definition

accelerate

verb
ac·​cel·​er·​ate ik-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt, ak- How to pronounce accelerate (audio)
accelerated; accelerating

transitive verb

: to cause to move faster or speed up
accelerated speech and motor activity in manic patients
also : to cause to undergo acceleration

intransitive verb

: to move faster : gain speed

Legal Definition

accelerate

verb
ac·​cel·​er·​ate
accelerated; accelerating

transitive verb

: to bring about at an earlier time: as
a
: to advance (the maturity date of a security agreement) so that payment of the debt in full is due immediately see also acceleration clause
b
: to cause (a future interest in property) to vest by removing the preceding interests (as by failure or premature termination)

intransitive verb

: to enforce an acceleration clause
held that the creditor's right to accelerate was suspended—J. J. White and R. S. Summers
acceleration noun

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