accumulate
verb
Simple meaning
To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhkyoomyuhlaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əkˈjumjəleɪt
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.
verb
intransitive
To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.
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.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.
To 'accumulate' means to gather or collect over time, often implying a large quantity. It’s a very common verb and applies to both tangible items like dust or money, and intangible things like knowledge.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Personal Finance Advice
“Try to accumulate savings for your retirement early.”
Home Maintenance
“Dust can quickly accumulate on shelves if not cleaned.”
Scientific Observation
“Ice began to accumulate on the airplane wings during the storm.”
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.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A person who is employed to collect payments (as for rent or taxes).
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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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.