acceleration

acceleration — noun

1. the way a car, train, or other moving thing builds up speed, or how quickly it c

1.nounB2
Definition

the way a car, train, or other moving thing builds up speed, or how quickly it can do this from a stop.

Example

The new electric taxi has smooth acceleration from a standstill at every traffic light.

collocation: smooth / quick / rapid acceleration

Diego was thrown back into his seat by the rocket's sudden acceleration.

pattern: thrown back by + acceleration

Common collocations
  • smooth acceleration
  • rapid acceleration
  • sudden acceleration
  • good acceleration
Synonyms
  • pickup

    informal, mostly American, used for cars

  • speed-up

    informal; not used as commonly for vehicles

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

acceleration of [vehicle/object]

acceleration from X to Y

Usage Note

Often used with cars, planes, and other vehicles when talking about how fast they pick up speed. Frequently follows adjectives like 'smooth', 'sudden', 'rapid', or 'slow'.

Common Mistakes

The car has a good speed of acceleration.
The car has good acceleration.
'acceleration' already includes the idea of speed; no need to add 'speed of'.

2. a faster pace at which an event, change, or trend happens, compared with how it

2.nounC1
Definition

a faster pace at which an event, change, or trend happens, compared with how it was happening before.

Example

Climate scientists warned of a clear acceleration in the melting of Greenland's glaciers.

pattern: acceleration in + noun phrase

The pandemic caused a sharp acceleration of online shopping in many small towns.

pattern: acceleration of + noun phrase

Common collocations
  • sharp acceleration
  • rapid acceleration
  • dramatic acceleration
  • acceleration of growth
Synonyms
  • quickening

    more literary; common with the heart, pulse, or pace of events

  • speeding up

    informal verbal phrase used in everyday speech

Antonyms
  • slowdown

    a drop in the pace of an activity or trend

  • decline

    a fall in level rather than just in pace

Grammar Patterns

acceleration in [process/trend]

acceleration of [activity]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 by checking the subject: if the noun describes a process or change (growth, decline, shopping, loss) rather than a moving object, this sense applies. Often paired with 'sharp', 'rapid', 'dramatic', or 'sudden'.

Common Mistakes

There is a big acceleration to online learning.
There is a big acceleration of online learning.
use 'of' before the activity that is speeding up.

3. in physics, a measure of how fast a moving thing's velocity is changing each sec

3.nounC1
Definition

in physics, a measure of how fast a moving thing's velocity is changing each second, taking into account both speed and direction.

Example

The students measured the acceleration of a steel ball as it rolled down a wooden ramp.

pattern: acceleration of + object

On Earth, the acceleration due to gravity is about 9.8 metres per second squared.

fixed phrase: acceleration due to gravity

Common collocations
  • acceleration due to gravity
  • constant acceleration
  • uniform acceleration
  • negative acceleration
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • deceleration

    negative acceleration, when an object slows down

Grammar Patterns

acceleration of [object]

acceleration due to [force]

Usage Note

Only sense that includes changes in direction, not just changes in speed. Subject is usually a physical object being studied or measured. Common in school physics and engineering contexts.

Common Mistakes

The car has acceleration of 60 kilometres per hour.
The car has an acceleration of 2 metres per second squared.
physics acceleration is measured in distance per time squared, not in speed units.

Word family

  • accelerate
    verbB2
  • accelerated
    adjectiveB2
  • accelerator
    nounB2
  • decelerate
    verbC1
  • deceleration
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

All four words describe something happening faster, but they fit different contexts. 'Acceleration' is the most neutral and is common in news, business, and science writing — it simply states that the pace has increased. 'Quickening' sounds more literary and is often used for the heart, breath, or the pace of events in a story (a quickening of her pulse). 'Speed-up' is informal and best in spoken English, often paired with everyday activities (a speed-up in the queue). 'Surge' suggests a sudden, strong burst rather than a steady increase, and usually implies a measurable jump (a surge in demand). For example, you might write 'an acceleration of online shopping' in a report, but say 'a surge in online shopping' when describing a single dramatic week.

acceleration ↗quickeningspeed-upsurge ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • rate of acceleration
  • acceleration due to gravity
  • sudden acceleration

Prepositions

  • acceleration in
  • acceleration of
  • acceleration from
  • acceleration to

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Borrowed into English in the late 1500s from Latin 'acceleratio', a noun built from the verb 'accelerare' meaning 'to hurry up'. That verb itself comes from 'ad-' ('towards') joined to 'celer' ('fast' or 'swift') — the same root that gives us 'celerity'. The earliest English uses meant simply 'a hastening', and the strict scientific meaning involving velocity and time only became fixed in the 1600s, as physics developed under Galileo and Newton.