accumulate
Etymology

From Middle English accumylaten, from Latin accumulātus, perfect passive participle of accumulō ("amass, pile up"), formed from ad ("to, towards, at") + cumulō ("heap"), from cumulus ("a heap").

Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/
  • (America, Canada) IPA: /əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/
Verb

accumulate (accumulates, present participle accumulating; simple past and past participle accumulated)

  1. (transitive) To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively)
    Synonyms: amass, heap, hoard, store, Thesaurus:pile up
    He wishes to accumulate a sum of money.
  2. (intransitive) To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.
    Synonyms: aggregate, amound, collect, gather, Thesaurus:accumulate
    With her company going bankrupt, her divorce, and a gambling habit, debts started to accumulate so she had to sell her house.
  3. (education, dated) To take a higher degree at the same time with a lower degree, or at a shorter interval than usual.
Translations Translations Adjective

accumulate (not comparable)

  1. (poetic, rare) Collected; accumulated.
Related terms


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