decelerate

verb

de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt How to pronounce decelerate (audio)
decelerated; decelerating

transitive verb

1
: to reduce the speed of : slow down
decelerate a car
2
: to decrease the rate of progress of
decelerate growth
decelerate soil erosion

intransitive verb

: to move at decreasing speed
deceleration noun
decelerator noun

Examples of decelerate in a Sentence

she decelerated the car as we entered the school zone
Recent Examples on the Web However, the report warned the field was expected to decelerate as the industry reaches economic maturity. The Arizona Republic, 24 Feb. 2024 The Americas also decelerated throughout the year to end with an 8% decline in revenues from 2022. Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Were people just not getting how good the economy really was – as inflation decelerated even while jobs continued to grow? Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Feb. 2024 Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — decelerated from its sizzling 4.9% growth rate the previous quarter. Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 25 Jan. 2024 Growth decelerated significantly from the previous quarter but still exceeded economist expectations by more than a percentage point. Max Zahn, ABC News, 25 Jan. 2024 Overall, monthly spending growth decelerated from 0.7 percent in September to 0.2 percent in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Abha Bhattarai, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024 State police said a Nissan Rogue driven by a 45-year-old man from Albany, was heading north on I-91 in the right center lane of five directly in front of the tractor-trailer when, for an unknown reason, the SUV rapidly decelerated causing the tractor-trailer to collided with its rear end. Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2024 De Heer underscores that the swift progress witnessed throughout the history of computing is decelerating due to these constraints on silicon. IEEE Spectrum, 18 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decelerate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

de- + accelerate

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of decelerate was in 1899

Dictionary Entries Near decelerate

Cite this Entry

“Decelerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decelerate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

decelerate

verb
de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce decelerate (audio)
decelerated; decelerating
: to move or cause to move at decreasing speed : slow down
deceleration noun

Medical Definition

decelerate

verb
de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce decelerate (audio)
decelerated; decelerating

transitive verb

: to reduce the speed of : slow down

intransitive verb

: to move at decreasing speed
deceleration noun

More from Merriam-Webster on decelerate

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