Acceleration

Pronunciation

• enPR: É™ksÄ•lÉ™rā'shÉ™n, IPA: /É™k.ËŒsÉ›l.É™.ˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, /æk.ËŒsÉ›l.É™.ˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, /ɪk.ËŒsÉ›l.É™.ˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Alternative forms

• acc.
• a.

Origin

First attested in 1531. From French accélération or more likely directly from Latin accelerātiō ("a hastening, acceleration")

CDOE|page=6

. Equivalent to accelerate + -ion.

Full definition of acceleration

Noun

1. (uncountable) The act of accelerating, or the state of being accelerated; increase of motion or action; as opposed to retardation or deceleration.a falling body moves toward the earth with an acceleration of velocity
2. (countable) The amount by which a speed or velocity increases (and so a scalar quantity or a vector quantity).The boosters produce an acceleration of 20 metres per second per second.
• unknown date Isaac TaylorA period of social improvement, or of intellectual advancement, contains within itself a principle of acceleration ...
3. (physics) The change of velocity with respect to time (can include deceleration or changing direction).
4. The advancement of students at a rate that places them ahead of where they would be in the regular school curriculum.

Usage notes

Acceleration in SI units is measured in metres per second per second (m/s

2

), or in imperial units in feet per second per second (ft/s

2

).

Antonyms

• (act or state, amount) deceleration, retardation