definition of the word acceleration

• Latin acceleratio; compare French accélération
• accelerate + -tion

• enPR: əksĕlərā'shən, IPA: /ək.sɛl.əˈreɪ.ʃən/, SAMPA: /@ksEl@"reIS@n/

  Rhymes: -eɪʃǝn

acceleration (countable and uncountable; plural accelerations)

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.

   Quotations

   A period of social improvement, or of intellectual advancement, contains within itself a principle of acceleration — I. Taylor

3. (physics) The change of velocity with respect to time (can include deceleration or changing direction).

Acceleration in SI units is measured in metres per second per second (m/s²), or in imperial units in feet per second per second (ft/s²).

• (act, state, amount): deceleration, retardation

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

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