Skip to main content
to accumulate

to accumulate

174 3.4
To gather more and more of something over time
  • verb
  • /əˈkjuːmjʊleɪt/
translation icon : acumular
  • With each rainy season, water began to accumulate in the low-lying areas of the park.
  • accumulate knowledge
  • accumulate debt
  • accumulate wealth

For example, as we age we also accumulate tags on our DNA.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • How did legacies of privilege and loss accumulate between then and now?

  • Usually, several years are needed to accumulate enough reserves for a self-insurance program to be financially viable.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Those things are helping you accumulate more stock as time goes on.

  • Yeah, right, right, so we can, you know accumulate some capital, basically.

  • For example, as we age we also accumulate tags on our DNA.

  • Even children with limited exposure to print had accumulated knowledge about print before they came to school.

    Academic text (1999)
  • As a result, during the late 1920s, the French accumulated a further 30 percent of the world's gold reserves.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Third, they retired after age sixty to increase their accumulated funds and shorten their retirement period.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Like I don't know how I've accumulated so much stuff.

  • Morgenthau thought of the "rational" statesman as striving ever to accumulate more and more power.

    Academic text (1990)

Synonyms

to collect
vsto accumulate
499 1.1

To bring things or people together in one place

is the slow increase of quantity over time rather than immediate assembly
to build up
vsto accumulate
207 3.0

Increase slowly over time

is about gaining more over time without implying strengthening
to pile up
vsto accumulate
83 3.1

To put things on top of each other until they make a heap

is broader, covering slow increase even without a physical heap
to amass
vsto accumulate
66 4.8

To collect a lot of something over time

is about slow increase without stressing large scale or effort
to gather
vsto accumulate
53 1.8

Increase slowly over time

is broader and can include deliberate accumulation as well as slow growth
to hoard
vsto accumulate
45 4.8

To collect and keep large amounts of food or other things for future use

is general slow getting of more without secrecy or hoarding intent
to accrue
vsto accumulate
27 6.6

To slowly increase over time, for example money or benefits

is a more general slow getting of more over time
to stock up on
vsto accumulate
27 2.5

Buy a large amount of something to use later

is about gradual increase over time rather than planned buying
to aggregate
vsto accumulate
23 5.1

To collect things together to make one total

is the simpler slow getting together rather than formal combining
to roll up
vsto accumulate
22 3.7

Collect small amounts until they become a larger total

is the broad slow increase not limited to combining sums
to heap
vsto accumulate
14 2.4

To put things into a pile

is the wider gradual getting of more, not only piling
to stack up
vsto accumulate
7 4.0

Collect things over time until there is a large amount

is the general slow getting of more, not just saving
to accrete
vsto accumulate
  • Specialized
1 8.9

To grow slowly by adding small amounts over time

is the general slow increase not limited to natural joining
to cumulate
vsto accumulate
1 7.9

To increase in amount over time

is the wider idea of gradual increase beyond formal repeats

Antonyms

104 4.4

To cause people and things, like a crowd or fog, to spread over a wide area

48 6.8

To make something spread out and disappear, for example fog or tension

How Much

to amass
66 4.8
to accumulate
174 3.4
to collect
499 1.1

Surface Forms

accumulate infinitive
accumulated past participle
accumulating present participle
accumulates third person singular

Morphology

accumulate = cumulate (transparent) = ac + cumulate

Meaning is a straightforward prefixation: ac- (to/toward, assimilated form of ad-) + cumulate (to heap up), so the verb plainly means 'to heap up/collect'.

Etymology

Accumulate comes from Latin parts ad- 'to' and cumulus 'heap'. Think of it like adding things to a pile or 'piling up', so to accumulate is to gather more and more over time.