Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

accumulate

/əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.48 in modern English

Syllables: ac-cu-mu-late
IPA: /əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.

Transitive verb

verb

To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.

Intransitive verb

verb

To take a higher degree at the same time with a lower degree, or at a shorter interval than usual.

Dated

adj

Collected; accumulated.

Example Sentences

"He wishes to accumulate a sum of money."
"In these stellar pairings, if the two stars are close together, the white dwarf will siphon mass away from its companion and have an outburst called a nova. And when the white dwarf accumulates too much mass, it will collapse and explode in a supernova."
"With her company going bankrupt, her divorce, and a gambling habit, debts started to accumulate so she had to sell her house."
"Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, / Where wealth accumulates, and men decay."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁mósder.? Latin cumulus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin cumulō Latin accumulō Latin accumulātusbor. Middle English accumylaten English accumulate 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.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: accumylaten

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/
British English: /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

accumulates (present, singular) accumulating (participle, present) accumulated (participle, past) accumulated (past)

Derived Forms

accumulable accumulative bioaccumulate decumulate hyperaccumulate hyperaccumulating misaccumulated nonaccumulating overaccumulate preaccumulated reaccumulate reaccumulated

Frequently Paired Words

amass accumulation accumulator cumulus

Synonyms

amass heap hoard store accumulate agglomerate build up cumulate heap up mound pile pile up

Antonyms

decline decumulate lose

Questions

How do you pronounce accumulate?: The recorded pronunciation is /əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/.
What does accumulate mean?: To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.
Where does accumulate come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce accumulate

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