accelerator
noun
Simple meaning
A pedal causing the vehicle to accelerate when it is pressed.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aksehlerayterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ækˈsɛlɚeɪtɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
vehicles
A pedal causing the vehicle to accelerate when it is pressed.
A device for causing acceleration.
One who, or that which, accelerates.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (vehicles) A pedal causing the vehicle to accelerate when it is pressed.
This specific meaning of 'accelerator' refers to the pedal in a car that makes it go faster, also known as the gas pedal. It's a very common term in American English for driving.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Driving school
“Press the accelerator gently to increase your speed.”
Car maintenance
“My accelerator pedal feels a bit sticky sometimes.”
Daily conversation
“She slammed on the accelerator and sped down the road.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A coagulation factor.
A pedal that controls the throttle valve.
An accelerator in which high-energy ions escape from plasma following charge exchange.
A high-voltage machine in which rectifiers charge capacitors that discharge and drive charged particles through an accelerating tube.
A high-voltage machine in which rectifiers charge capacitors that discharge and drive charged particles through an accelerating tube.
Collider that consists of an accelerator that collides electrons and positrons.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.