accumulator

American  

[uh-kyoo-myuh-ley-ter] / əˈkyu myəˌleɪ tər /

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.

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accumulator British  

/ əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. Also called: battery.   storage 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

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Etymology

Origin of accumulator

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

Example Sentences

Instead of writing, he became an accumulator of a vast amount of other writers’ work — in his library as well as the repository in his head.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2026

The bitcoin accumulator, previously known as MicroStrategy, closed at its lowest price in more than a year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

"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 • Mar. 17, 2023

In the lexicon of permaculture, comfrey is known as a dynamic accumulator.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 24, 2022

Accumulation is then at an end; because the security of the thing accumulated to the accumulator is at an end.

From Knowledge is Power: A View of the Productive Forces of Modern Society and the Results of Labor, Capital and Skill. by Knight, Charles

Related Words

• connoisseur
• hobbyist