accumulator

[ uh-kyoo-myuh-ley-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that accumulates.
2. a register or electric device on an arithmetic machine, as an adding machine, cash register, or digital computer, that receives a number and produces and stores the results of arithmetic operations of the given number with other numbers.
3. British. a storage battery or storage cell.
4. an apparatus that stores fluid at approximately the working pressure of the hydraulic or pneumatic system in which it will be employed, so that a supply of fluid is always immediately available to the system.
5. Machinery. (in a boiler) a vessel for storing hot fluid, ready to flash into steam.
6. Hydraulics. a vessel in which air is trapped and compressed by the liquid, thus storing energy to supply liquid under pressure when the demand of the system is greater than the capacity of the pump.

accumulator

/ əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. Also calledbatterystorage battery a rechargeable device for storing electrical energy in the form of chemical energy, consisting of one or more separate secondary cells
2. horse racing a collective bet, esp on four or more races, in which the stake and winnings on each successive race are carried forward to become the stake on the next, so that both stakes and winnings accumulate progressively so long as the bet continues to be a winning one
3. 1. a register in a computer or calculator used for holding the results of a computation or data transfer
   2. a location in a computer store in which arithmetical results are produced

Word History and Origins

Origin of accumulator¹

1685–95; < Latin accumulātor, equivalent to accumulā ( re ) to heap up ( accumulate ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

If we knew on 16 June, as Pat Cummins prepared to bowl the first ball of the summer's Ashes feast to Zak Crawley, what we know now, we could have solved all the problems in the world with one simple £1 accumulator bet, a humble punt that could have paved the way for a new era of global peace, prosperity, harmony and well-scheduled, equitably financed Test cricket around the world.

From BBC

You should now have cranked to accumulator odds high enough to save not merely earth - still one of the top five planets in the solar system despite its current problems - but also at least three as yet undiscovered inhabitable planets in outer space.

From BBC

When he was 16, he placed a £5 accumulator on four teams and took home £90 when they all won.

From BBC

Most controversially, he conceived of the orgone energy accumulator, a human-sized box, which was banned by the FDA.

From Los Angeles Times

"For pregnant women or avid drinkers of black tea, they're going to get more fluoride because it's a hyper accumulator of fluoride."

From Salon

Related Words

• connoisseur
• hobbyist