Definition of ACCELERATE

accelerate

Verb

  • move faster
    • "The car accelerated"
  • cause to move faster
    • "He accelerated the car"
  • To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of.
  • To quicken the natural or ordinary progression or process of.
  • To cause a change of velocity.
  • To hasten, as the occurrence of an event.
  • To enable a student to finish a course of study in less than normal time.
  • To become faster; to begin to move more quickly.
  • Grow; increase.

Adj

  • Accelerated; quickened; hastened; hurried.

Examples

  • to accelerate our departure
  • to accelerate the growth of a plant, the increase of wealth, etc.

Origin / Etymology

First attested in the 1520s. Either from Latin accelerātus, perfect passive participle of accelerō (“to accelerate, hasten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ad + celerō (“to hasten”), which is from celer (“quick”) (see celerity), or back-formation from acceleration.

Synonyms

quicken, speed, speed up, advance, expedite, forward, further, hasten

Scrabble Score: 14

accelerate: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
accelerate: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
accelerate: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 17

accelerate: valid Words With Friends Word