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Webster 1913 Edition


Accelerate

Ac-cel′er-ate

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Accelerated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Accelerating
.]
[L.
acceleratus
, p. p. of
accelerare
;
ad
+
celerare
to hasten;
celer
quick. See
Celerity
.]
1.
To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of; – opposed to
retard
.
2.
To quicken the natural or ordinary progression or process of;
as, to
accelerate
the growth of a plant, the increase of wealth, etc.
3.
To hasten, as the occurence of an event;
as, to
accelerate
our departure
.
Accelerated motion
(Mech.)
,
motion with a continually increasing velocity.
Accelerating force
,
the force which causes accelerated motion.
Nichol.
Syn. – To hasten; expedite; quicken; dispatch; forward; advance; further.

Webster 1828 Edition


Accelerate

ACCEL'ERATE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. accelero, of ad and celero, to hasten, from celer, quick.
1.
To cause to move faster; to hasten; to quicken motion; to add to the velocity of a moving body. It implies previous motion or progression.
2.
To add to natural or ordinary progression; as to accelerate the growth of a plant, or the progress of knowledge.
3.
To bring nearer in time; to shorten the time between the present time and a future event; as to accelerate the ruin of a government; to accelerate a battle.

Definition 2024


accelerate

accelerate

English

Verb

accelerate (third-person singular simple present accelerates, present participle accelerating, simple past and past participle accelerated)

  1. (transitive) To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of.
  2. (transitive) To quicken the natural or ordinary progression or process of.
    to accelerate the growth of a plant, the increase of wealth, etc.
  3. (transitive, physics) To cause a change of velocity.
  4. (transitive) To hasten, as the occurrence of an event.
    to accelerate our departure
  5. (transitive, education) To enable a student to finish a course of study in less than normal time.
  6. (intransitive) To become faster; to begin to move more quickly.
  7. (intransitive) Grow; increase.
  8. (obsolete) Alternative form of accelerated

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

accelerate

  1. (rare) Accelerated; quickened; hastened; hurried.
    • 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue 2:
      ... a general knowledg of the definition of motion, and of the distinction of natural and violent, even and accelerate, and the like, sufficing.

References

  1. Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], ISBN 0550142304), page 6

Italian

Adjective

accelerate f pl

  1. feminine plural of accelerato

Verb

accelerate

  1. second-person plural present indicative of accelerare
  2. second-person plural imperative of accelerare
  3. feminine plural of accelerato

Latin

Verb

accelerāte

  1. first-person plural present active imperative of accelerō