ACCUMULATE
/əˈkju.mjəˌleɪt/Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2025
Meaning
To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.
Etymology
Origin: Middle English
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁mósder.? Latin cumulus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin cumulō Latin accumulō Latin accumulātusbor. Middle English accumylaten English accumulate First attested c. 1487; from Middle English accumylaten, borrowed from Latin accumulātus, perfect passive participle of accumulō (“to amass, pile up”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ad (“to, towards, at”) + cumulō (“to heap”), from cumulus (“a heap”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French accumuler.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 1 recorded puzzle, including a pangram: