Standard Lemma guide

accumulate

adj · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/
  • Canada, General-American: /əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 K Y UW1 M Y AH0 L EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Collected; accumulated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, poetic, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • He wishes to accumulate a sum of money.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: amass, heap, hoard, store, accumulate, agglomerate, build up, cumulate, heap up, mound, pile, pile up, rack up, stack, stack up, upheap

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • With her company going bankrupt, her divorce, and a gambling habit, debts started to accumulate so she had to sell her house.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: aggregate, amound, collect, gather

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

Topics: education

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

collect or gather

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Journals are accumulating in my office
  • The work keeps piling up

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cumulate, conglomerate, pile up, gather, amass

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: increase

Narrower terms: backlog, accrete, drift

6

verb

Meaning 6

get or gather together

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • I am accumulating evidence for the man's unfaithfulness to his wife
  • She is amassing a lot of data for her thesis
  • She rolled up a small fortune

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: roll up, collect, pile up, amass, compile, hoard

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: store, hive away, lay in, put in, salt away, stack away, stash away

Narrower terms: run up, corral, collect, pull in, scrape, scrape up, scratch, come up, lump, chunk, bale, catch, fund

History

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.

Across languages

Translations

113 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Amharic: አከማቸ (ʾäkämačä) — to pile up
  • Belarusian: назапа́шваць (nazapášvacʹ) — to pile up
  • Belarusian: запа́сіць (zapásicʹ) — to pile up
  • Belarusian: назапа́сіць (nazapásicʹ) — to pile up
  • Belarusian: нако́пліваць (nakóplivacʹ) — to pile up
  • Belarusian: накапля́ць (nakapljácʹ) — to pile up
  • Belarusian: накапі́ць (nakapícʹ) — to pile up
  • Bulgarian: натру́пвам (natrúpvam) — to pile up
  • Bulgarian: натру́пам (natrúpam) — to pile up
  • Catalan: acumular — to pile up
  • Chinese Cantonese: 儲埋 /储埋 (cou5 maai4) — to pile up
  • Chinese Mandarin: 積累 /积累 (jīlěi) — to pile up
  • Danish: akkumulere — to pile up
  • Dutch: opstapelen — to pile up
  • Dutch: vermeerderen — to pile up
  • Dutch: accumuleren — to pile up
  • Esperanto: amasigi — to pile up
  • Farefare: kuge — to pile up
  • Finnish: kasata — to pile up
  • Finnish: kerätä — to pile up
  • Finnish: kerääntyä — to pile up
  • French: accumuler — to pile up
  • Georgian: დაგროვება (dagroveba) — to pile up
  • Georgian: მოგროვება (mogroveba) — to pile up
  • Georgian: შეგროვება (šegroveba) — to pile up
  • German: aufstauen — to pile up
  • Gothic: 𐌷𐌿𐌷𐌾𐌰𐌽 (huhjan) — to pile up
  • Hebrew: צָבַר (tsavár) — to pile up
  • Hebrew: אָגַר (agár) — to pile up
  • Hungarian: felgyülemlik — to pile up
  • Hungarian: felhalmoz — to pile up
  • Irish: tiomsaigh — to pile up
  • Japanese: 積む (tsumu) — to pile up
  • Korean: 모으다 (mo'euda) — to pile up
  • Korean: 축적하다 (chukjeokhada) — to pile up
  • Korean: 쌓다 (ssata) — to pile up
  • Latin: accumulō — to pile up
  • Latin: cumulō — to pile up
  • Khiamniungan Naga: khámshá — to pile up
  • Persian: اندوختن (anduxtan) — to pile up
  • Persian: انباردن (anbārdan) — to pile up
  • Polish: akumulować — to pile up
  • Polish: zakumulować — to pile up
  • Portuguese: acumular — to pile up
  • Quechua: qutuy — to pile up
  • Quechua: qulluy — to pile up
  • Russian: нака́пливать (nakáplivatʹ) — to pile up
  • Russian: копи́ть (kopítʹ) — to pile up
  • Russian: накопи́ть (nakopítʹ) — to pile up
  • Russian: аккумули́ровать (akkumulírovatʹ) — to pile up
  • Russian: собира́ть (sobirátʹ) — to pile up
  • Russian: собра́ть (sobrátʹ) — to pile up
  • Serbo-Croatian: на̀купити — to pile up
  • Serbo-Croatian: нагомѝлати — to pile up
  • Serbo-Croatian: nàkupiti — to pile up
  • Serbo-Croatian: nagomìlati — to pile up
  • Spanish: acumular — to pile up
  • Spanish: amontonar — to pile up
  • Swedish: ackumulera — to pile up
  • Thai: เก็บ (gèp) — to pile up
  • Ukrainian: накопи́чувати (nakopýčuvaty) — to pile up
  • Ukrainian: накопи́чити (nakopýčyty) — to pile up
  • Ukrainian: нагрома́джувати (nahromádžuvaty) — to pile up
  • Ukrainian: нагрома́дити (nahromádyty) — to pile up
  • Ukrainian: акумулюва́ти (akumuljuváty) — to pile up
  • Bulgarian: съби́рам се (sǎbíram se) — to grow in number
  • Bulgarian: увелича́вам се (uveličávam se) — to grow in number
  • Catalan: acumular — to grow in number
  • Chinese Mandarin: 積累 /积累 (jīlěi) — to grow in number
  • Dutch: zich opstapelen — to grow in number
  • Dutch: (zich) vermeerderen — to grow in number
  • Dutch: accumuleren — to grow in number
  • Esperanto: amasiĝi — to grow in number
  • Finnish: kasaantua — to grow in number
  • Finnish: kerääntyä — to grow in number
  • Finnish: akkumuloitua — to grow in number
  • French: accumuler — to grow in number
  • German: sich vermehren — to grow in number
  • Haitian Creole: akimile — to grow in number
  • Hebrew: הִצְטַבֵּר (hitstabér) — to grow in number
  • Hebrew: נֶאֱגַר (ne'egár) — to grow in number
  • Indonesian: akumulasi — to grow in number
  • Interlingua: accumular se — to grow in number
  • Italian: accumularsi — to grow in number
  • Japanese: 蓄積する — to grow in number
  • Japanese: 溜まる (tamaru) — to grow in number
  • Korean: 쌓이다 (ssaida) — to grow in number
  • Latin: accumulō — to grow in number
  • Maltese: akkumula — to grow in number
  • Khiamniungan Naga: khámshá — to grow in number
  • Polish: akumulować się — to grow in number
  • Polish: zakumulować się — to grow in number
  • Portuguese: acumular — to grow in number
  • Russian: нака́пливаться (nakáplivatʹsja) — to grow in number
  • Russian: копи́ться (kopítʹsja) — to grow in number
  • Russian: накопи́ться (nakopítʹsja) — to grow in number
  • Russian: собира́ться (sobirátʹsja) — to grow in number
  • Russian: собра́ться (sobrátʹsja) — to grow in number
  • Russian: увели́чиваться (uvelíčivatʹsja) — to grow in number
  • Russian: увели́читься (uvelíčitʹsja) — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: акумули́рати — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: наку́пљати — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: на̀купити — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: нагомилати — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: увѐћати — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: нарасти́ — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: akumulirati — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: nakupljati — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: nàkupiti — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: nagomilati — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: nàrāsti — to grow in number
  • Serbo-Croatian: uvèćati — to grow in number
  • Spanish: acumularse — to grow in number
Real reading context

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