accumulation

[ uh-kyoo-myuh-ley-shuhn ]

noun

1. act or state of accumulating; state of being accumulated.
2. that which is accumulated; an accumulated amount, number, or mass.
3. growth by continuous additions, as of interest to principal.

accumulation

/ əˌkjuːmjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of collecting together or becoming collected
2. something that has been collected, gathered, heaped, etc
3. finance
   1. the continuous growth of capital by retention of interest or earnings
   2. (in computing the yield on a bond purchased at a discount) the amount that is added to each yield to bring the cost of the bond into equality with its par value over its life Compare amortization
4. the taking of a first and an advanced university degree simultaneously

Other Words From

• nonac·cumu·lation noun
• over·ac·cumu·lation noun
• preac·cumu·lation noun
• reac·cumu·lation noun
• super·ac·cumu·lation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of accumulation¹

First recorded in 1480–90, accumulation is from the Latin word accumulātiōn- (stem of accumulātiō ). See accumulate, -ion

Example Sentences

Still, the accumulation of data about dogs provides a good foothold from which to extrapolate and reach toward answers to those questions.

From Freakonomics

Wealth accumulation in the tech world has been eye-popping during the pandemic as the shift of everything from work, shopping, schooling and entertainment online has boosted demand for digital services.

From Fortune

In recent years, climate warming, accumulation of dead wood on the forest floor and a buildup of small trees—which serve as “ladder fuels,” moving fire from the forest floor up into the canopy—have led to hotter, larger wildfires.

From Popular-Science

They temporarily put aside the gradual accumulation of undergraduate math and skipped ahead to the vanguard of the field.

From Quanta Magazine

We can build shielding that accounts for a changing environment, but not even the best models for future debris accumulation can predict everything.

From MIT Technology Review

For Reid, wealth accumulation has come from a steady diet of land deals and playing the market.

From The Daily Beast

A brown tacky gleam of years of paint accumulation covers the three-story apartment.

From The Daily Beast

And if you go through enough of it, this accumulation comes to be your calling card of wisdom.

From The Daily Beast

In both countries, the rulers place the accumulation of wealth far ahead of the welfare of the nation.

From The Daily Beast

Ends: When eyelash-ice-accumulation renders you blind, your frozen tears only compounding the problem.

From The Daily Beast

This Method can be readily applied to events in ancient or modern times, or to an accumulation of facts in the sciences, &c.

From Project Gutenberg

If Madame Roland's letter dismissed him from office, her letter also restored him again with an enormous accumulation of power.

From Project Gutenberg

He simply revelled in it; not because he cared about money as such, but because the accumulation of wealth fascinated him.

From Project Gutenberg

The time needed for the slow accumulation of the whole series of deposits must have been very considerable.

From Project Gutenberg

Does the character of such change by the accumulation or the long pressure of the very same—not new, evils?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accretion
• aggregation
• buildup
• growth
• inflation
• pile
• quantity