accumulate
[verb]
Synonyms: collect, accrue, amass, build up, gather, hoard, increase, pile up, store

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Antonyms: dissipate
Contrasted words: decrease, diminish, lessen, deal, dispense, distribute, dole (out), dispel, disperse, scatter, consume, expend, spend, use, use up
Related Idioms: squirrel away
Related Words: assemble, collect, gather, lay by, lay down, lay in, heap, mass, pile, stock, fund, hoard, treasure

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English Thesaurus: collect, gather, assemble, build up, accumulate, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

ac‧cu‧mu‧late AC /əˈkjuːmjəleɪt, əˈkjuːmjʊleɪt/ verb
[Word Family: verb: accumulate; noun: accumulation; adverb: accumulatively; adjective: accumulative]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: past participle of accumulare, from ad- 'to' + cumulare 'to pile up']

1. [transitive] to gradually get more and more money, possessions, knowledge etc over a period of time:
It is unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate wealth.

2. [intransitive] to gradually increase in numbers or amount until there is a large quantity in one place:
Fat tends to accumulate around the hips and thighs.
—accumulation /əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃən, əˌkjuːmjʊˈleɪʃən/ noun [uncountable and countable]:
the accumulation of data

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In everyday English, people usually say build up rather than accumulate:
These chemicals tend to build up in the soil.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

accumulate
verb
ADV. gradually, slowly | steadily | rapidly
VERB + ACCUMULATE begin to | be allowed to Dirt must not be allowed to accumulate.
tend to Toxic chemicals tend to accumulate in the body.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

collect to get things of the same type from different places and bring them together:
She collects stamps (=as a hobby).
They have collected 650 signatures for their petition.
gather to collect information from different places, or to collect crops, flowers, wood etc, especially from the ground:
Computers make it easier to gather information.
The men gathered firewood.
assemble formal to collect something such as information in an organized way:
When all the evidence is assembled, we will write our report.
build up to gradually collect more things of the same type over time:
He has built up one of the country’s finest collections of art.
accumulate to gradually get more and more of something such as money, possessions, or knowledge, over time. Accumulate is more formal than build up:
He is driven by the desire to accumulate wealth.
amass to collect a large amount of something such as money, information, or knowledge, over time:
Carnegie amassed a fortune in the steel industry.
run up a bill/debt/loss informal to allow a debt to increase quickly, especially by spending too much:
He ran up huge gambling debts.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲