accumulateac‧cu‧mu‧late /əˈkjuːmjəleɪt/ ●○○ AWL verb 
Word Origin Examples
It is unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate wealth.► see thesaurus at collect2[intransitive] to gradually increase in numbers or amount until there is a large quantity in one place: Fat tends to accumulate around the hips and thighs.—accumulation /əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]: the accumulation of dataRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say build up rather than accumulate:· These chemicals tend to build up in the soil.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINaccumulate
Verb TableOrigin:
1400-1500 Latin past participle of accumulare, from ad- ‘to’ + cumulare ‘to pile up’VERB TABLE
accumulate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | accumulate |
| he, she, it | accumulates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | accumulated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have accumulated |
| he, she, it | has accumulated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had accumulated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will accumulate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have accumulated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am accumulating |
| he, she, it | is accumulating | |
| you, we, they | are accumulating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was accumulating |
| you, we, they | were accumulating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been accumulating |
| he, she, it | has been accumulating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been accumulating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be accumulating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been accumulating |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- An army of 1650 plows and 2000 workers will be out this afternoon as snow begins to accumulate.
- By the late 1950s scientists had already accumulated enough evidence to show a clear link between smoking and cancer.
- Huge snowdrifts had accumulated on the airport's runways.
- I just don't know how we've managed to accumulate so much junk!
- Martin had accumulated $80,000 in debt.
- Over a period of years, the drug will accumulate in the body and damage the nervous system.
- Sand had accumulated at the mouth of the river and formed a bank which boats could not pass.
- Watkins said he has accumulated more than $100,000 in legal bills.
- First the carbon dioxide is filtered and allowed to accumulate in a container.
- In New York City, 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected to accumulate before changing to freezing rain tonight.
- Supplies enough for surviving at least thirty days have to be accumulated and transported.
- The remaining oxygen atoms simply accumulate in the atmosphere.
- With the fury that had accumulated over the years I pulled up some onions and flung them at him.
- Within eight years he had fully repaid his creditors and accumulated a greater fortune than ever before.
THESAURUS► collect
Collocations to get things of the same type from different places and bring them together: · She collects stamps (=as a hobby).· They have collected 650 signatures for their petition.
► gather to collect information from different places, or to collect crops, flowers, wood etc, especially from the ground: · Computers make it easier to gather information.· The men gathered firewood.
► assemble formal to collect something such as information in an organized way: · When all the evidence is assembled, we will write our report.
► build up to gradually collect more things of the same type over time: · He has built up one of the country’s finest collections of art.
► accumulate to gradually get more and more of something such as money, possessions, or knowledge, over time. Accumulate is more formal than build up: · He is driven by the desire to accumulate wealth.
► amass to collect a large amount of something such as money, information, or knowledge, over time: · Carnegie amassed a fortune in the steel industry.
► run up a bill/debt/loss informal to allow a debt to increase quickly, especially by spending too much: · He ran up huge gambling debts.
Longman Language Activatorto get more of something over a long period of time► accumulate to gradually get more and more money, possessions, knowledge etc over a period of time: · Watkins said he has accumulated more than $100,000 in legal bills.· By the late 1950s scientists had already accumulated enough evidence to show a clear link between smoking and cancer.· I just don't know how we've managed to accumulate so much junk!
► amass to gradually collect a very large amount of something such as money or properly: · The Lewins amassed their art collection over more than 40 years.· Over the years he had amassed an absolute fortune.
► gain formal to gradually get more of a useful skill or a good quality: · It took her a long time to gain enough confidence to speak in public.· She stayed in the job for five years, gaining valuable experience.· His ideas are gaining a lot of support.
to increase by gradually adding more► accumulate to increase gradually in number or amount until there is a large quantity in one place: · An army of 1650 plows and 2000 workers will be out this afternoon as snow begins to accumulate.· Sand had accumulated at the mouth of the river and formed a bank which boats could not pass.· Over a period of years, the drug will accumulate in the body and damage the nervous system.
► build up if something such as a substance or a force builds up somewhere, it increases gradually as more of it is added or more of it appears: · Deposits of lime will stick to the surface and build up over the years.· As the temperature rises, the pressure builds up inside the chamber.· Fertilizers can contain salts that build up in the soil.
► pile up informal if something such as work or debt piles up , it increases as more is added to it until there is a large quantity of it: · The work just keeps on piling up and makes me want to scream.· As her debts piled up, she came close to a nervous breakdown.
► mount up if prices, costs, debts etc mount up , they increase as more is added over a period of time, and cause more and more problems: · She finally had to go back to work to pay the bills that were mounting up.· The national debt has mounted up, growing to $1 trillion since Clinton took office.
► collect if something such as a liquid collects somewhere, it goes to that place and the amount there gradually increases: · As the tide came in, water collected to form small pools among the rocks.collect on/inside/behind etc: · Rain collecting at the tip of the rock has formed huge icicles.· If condensation collects on the inside of the window, wipe it off with a clean cloth.
► gather if a substance such as dirt, snow etc gathers somewhere, more and more of it appears in that place and stays there: · There were gaps between the floorboards where dust and bits of grime had gathered.gather on/around/behind etc: · Snow gathered thickly in the folds of their clothes.· Harry was afraid. Sweat gathered on his upper lip.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► over
Word family· By then she had accumulated over two thousand hours.· Their work, accumulated over millennia, could be seen everywhere.· Layers of paint accumulated over centuries were carefully dry-scraped away to reveal the original colour, a greeny-grey blue.· The waste, accumulated over a 40-year period, will remain dangerously radioactive for tens of thousands of years.· With the fury that had accumulated over the years I pulled up some onions and flung them at him.· Kirov assessed the scant information he had managed to accumulate over the last few weeks.· The Club also owned the auditors £400 accumulated over a period.· One contained business matters of the sort that households - even households in the depression years tend to accumulate over the years.
NOUN► amount· They accumulate abnormal amounts of sugar which causes them to swell during development.· The real problem may be that your accumulated pension amounts are incorrect, Lipp said.
► body· According to natural healing principles, these toxins can lead to disease if they are allowed to accumulate in the body.· Some sleep medications accumulate in the body and cause a hangover feeling the next day. 3.· The residues accumulate in our bodies and can cause cancer and birth defects.
► capital· In this hostile environment, there were few opportunities for townsmen to accumulate capital.· It profited from their energy and their accumulated capital.
► debt· Compounding the problem, aggressive credit card marketing makes it increasingly easy to accumulate debt.· He would not have found it possible to gamble deeply or to accumulate more debt.· Only nations that reduce their budget deficits to 3 percent of gross domestic product and accumulated debt to 60 percent automatically qualify.· Even so, reptiles accumulate an oxygen debt if active for long periods, as well as suffering from fatigue and slow rates of repayment.
► evidence· The visual evidence accumulates in the courtroom without argument: maps, video footage, satellite imagery and photographs.· A great deal of evidence has accumulated to show that this has indeed been the case.· As this evidence accumulates, so does the economic restructuring required becomes inevitable.· How could Spittals know exactly how much evidence she had accumulated against Hebden?· Nothing had been confirmed yet, of course, but the evidence was certainly accumulating against Hebden.· With only one more Saturday before Christmas, the evidence had accumulated with a slow inevitability against Hebden.· The judges will have to pore over the 22 volumes of evidence already accumulated and hear the 66 witnesses for the prosecution.
► money· Significantly, such doubts come only after they have accumulated enough money and do not have to worry...
► points· Insert a card into the machine at the branch and you can discover exactly how many points you have accumulated.· Pittsburgh also accumulated 11 points, going 5-2-1.· Clubs play against other clubs within their own division, accumulating points for each win or draw throughout the season.· Portsmouth accumulated just 55 disciplinary points despite the added pressure of chasing twin honours.
► wealth· How fortunate it is that enthusiasts such as Col. Savill have accumulated a wealth of material illustrating the railway scene.· There was enough accumulated wealth for the third Joseph Wright Alsop to pursue a life as country gentleman.· Grumbold's will indicates that he accumulated considerable wealth, acquiring a substantial amount of leasehold property in Cambridge.· By this definition, large, nonprofit firms that exist primarily to accumulate wealth would not qualify.· One key motivating factor is greed and a desire to accumulate more wealth.
► years· This is a genuine photograph showing how much dirt can accumulate after about three years.· With the fury that had accumulated over the years I pulled up some onions and flung them at him.· Two of three women with adenocarcinoma had accumulated more than 45 pack years each and one was also a heavy drinker.· One contained business matters of the sort that households - even households in the depression years tend to accumulate over the years.· They have already made a start on collating and indexing all the paraphernalia that has accumulated over the years.· These are accumulated over many years and may vigorously colour the way we respond to all kinds of situations today.· Lines of enquiry suggested themselves from reported material which had accumulated over the years on possible energy effects at ancient sites.· The air is thick with dust, accumulated over years of not-remembering, years of not wanting to know.
VERB► allow· There is no unique identifier that allows you to accumulate and match data.· First the carbon dioxide is filtered and allowed to accumulate in a container.· Similarly, the principle of the Law of Jubilee was that the rich should not be allowed to accumulate all property rights.· According to natural healing principles, these toxins can lead to disease if they are allowed to accumulate in the body.· Neither dirt nor refuse must be allowed to accumulate, and all floors and stairs shall be cleaned at least once a week.
► begin· Their electron traps are bleached during transport but after sedimentation and burial they begin to accumulate electrons once more.· This idea became known as seafloor spreading, and hard geophysical evidence to support the concept began accumulating in the early 1960s.· Disappointment and frustration began to accumulate in criticism of Buxton as parliamentary leader of the cause.· The rhythm slows down in the second quatrain where the s sounds begin to accumulate.· As data begin to accumulate on daily food requirements of different species, we can test more fine-grained hypotheses.· By 1938, the District achieved a balanced financial position and thereafter began to accumulate small credit balances.
► tend· Just beyond the crest they will tend to accumulate, for the effect of the wind is felt less here.· One contained business matters of the sort that households - even households in the depression years tend to accumulate over the years.· The new big cities tended to accumulate in a comparatively small number of countries.
WORD FAMILYnounaccumulationadjectiveaccumulativeverbaccumulateadverbaccumulatively
1[transitive] to gradually get more and more money, possessions, knowledge etc over a period of time: It is unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate wealth.► see thesaurus at collect2[intransitive] to gradually increase in numbers or amount until there is a large quantity in one place: Fat tends to accumulate around the hips and thighs.—accumulation /əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]: the accumulation of dataRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say build up rather than accumulate:· These chemicals tend to build up in the soil.