decelerate

verb

de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt 

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

(ˌ)dē-ˌse-lə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

decelerator

(ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-rā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• brake
• retard
• slacken
• slow

Examples of decelerate in a Sentence

she decelerated the car as we entered the school zone

Recent Examples on the Web

The personal savings rate decelerated in the third quarter to 4.8%, down from a 5.2% level that had been revised up sharply. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2024

The International Monetary Fund predicts growth would decelerate worldwide. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024

As the beauty landscape shape shifts around the world — Amazon ascendant, China decelerating, TikTok dominating and new consumers emerging — the beauty jobs market is evolving accordingly. —Kathryn Hopkins, WWD, 20 Sep. 2024

Household consumption growth has been decelerating. —Drew Bernstein, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

de- + accelerate

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

decelerate

verb

de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt 

decelerated; decelerating

: to move or cause to move at decreasing speed : slow down

deceleration

(ˌ)dē-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

decelerator

(ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

decelerate

verb

de·​cel·​er·​ate (ˈ)dē-ˈsel-ə-ˌrāt 

decelerated; decelerating

transitive verb

: to reduce the speed of : slow down

intransitive verb

: to move at decreasing speed

deceleration

(ˌ)dē-ˌsel-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun