accumulate

[uh-kyoo-myuh-leyt] / əˈkyu myəˌleɪt /

VERB

gather or amass something

Synonyms

STRONGEST

accrue acquire add to assemble collect compile concentrate expand gain grow hoard increase pile up rack up swell

STRONG

agglomerate aggregate amalgamate cache collocate cumulate gather heap incorporate lump mass pile procure profit stockpile store unite

WEAK

bring together clean up draw together heap together load up make a bundle make a killing roll up round up scare up stack up store up

Antonyms

STRONGEST

contract decrease diminish disperse divide forfeit lessen lose scatter separate shrink spend waste

WEAK

dissipate dwindle squander

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“And I want it to last 500 years, I want those little drill marks to accumulate, I want change. I want this to be something that generations will care for.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

By comparison, there are around 17 million External link 529 plans, which are designed to be used to pay for college tuition after earnings accumulate tax-free over several years.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Political leaders accumulate intellectual capital before they come into high office and spend it once they’re there—a point Kissinger made in his memoirs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

In people with Alzheimer's, amyloid-beta proteins accumulate and form clusters that disrupt communication between brain cells.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

The idea of what it means to be poor changed in the late sixties, when American manufacturers began to import their products from overseas and we began to accumulate “things.”

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Vocabulary lists containing accumulate

List 2

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Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

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"Of Mice and Men"

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