accumulate
UK /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/ · US /əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/ verb, adjective
Forms accumulates accumulating accumulated
- verb (transitive) To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent. “He wishes to accumulate a sum of money.”
- verb (intransitive) To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number. “With her company going bankrupt, her divorce, and a gambling habit, debts started to accumulate so she had to sell her house.”
- verb (education, dated) To take a higher degree at the same time with a lower degree, or at a shorter interval than usual.
- adjective (poetic, rare) Collected; accumulated.
Synonyms
amass heap hoard store agglomerate build up cumulate heap up mound pile pile up rack up stack stack up upheap aggregate amound collect gather accrue roll up compile conglomerate
Antonyms
Etymology
First attested c. 1487; from Middle English accumylaten, borrowed from Latin accumulātus, perfect passive participle of accumulō (“to amass, pile up”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ad (“to, towards, at”) + cumulō (“to heap”), from cumulus (“a heap”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French accumuler.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together; to amass; as, to accumulate a sum of money.
- verb To grow or increase in quantity or number; to increase greatly.
- adjective Collected; accumulated. Bacon.
Etymology [L. accumulatus, p. p. of accumulare; ad + cumulare to heap. See Cumulate.]
Etymology [L. accumulatus, p. p. of accumulare.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “accumulate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details