Accelerator


a person or thing that .
Automotive. a device, usually operated by the foot, for controlling the speed of an engine.
British. any two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle, as a motorcycle or motor scooter.
Photography. a chemical, usually an alkali, added to a developer to increase the rate of development.
Also called accelerant. Chemistry. any substance that increases the speed of a chemical change, as one that increases the rate of vulcanization of rubber or that hastens the setting of concrete, mortar, plaster, or the like.
Anatomy, Physiology. any muscle, nerve, or activating substance that quickens a movement.
Also called atom smasher, particle accelerator. Physics. an electrostatic or electromagnetic device, as a cyclotron, that produces high-energy particles and focuses them on a target.
Economics, .
Historical Examples

Cloud eased up his accelerator, eased down his mighty brakes.
The Vortex Blaster Edward Elmer Smith

“Say not so,” says Barry, steppin’ on the accelerator careless.
Torchy and Vee Sewell Ford

The alkali sets the reducer in action and is called the accelerator.
The Barnet Book of Photography Various

She had taken her foot off the accelerator, and the car slowed down.
Missing at Marshlands Cleo Garis

Then Eileen stepped on the accelerator, the car shot forward, and was almost instantly out of sight.
The Dragon’s Secret Augusta Huiell Seaman

Rick kept the accelerator to the floor except on the worst curves.
The Golden Skull John Blaine

In tachycardia there is an irritation of the accelerator nerves to the heart, in brachycardia of the inhibitory nerves.
Psychotherapy James J. Walsh

Scarcely had the beast come abreast of him than his foot leaped to the accelerator.
The Mad King Edgar Rice Burroughs

The village passed, he jammed down the accelerator and once more the car sprang forward.
The Man with the Clubfoot Valentine Williams

The roads were empty at that hour, and her foot pressed the accelerator.
Manslaughter Alice Duer Miller

noun
a device for increasing speed, esp a pedal for controlling the fuel intake in a motor vehicle; throttle
(physics) Also called (not in technical usage) atom smasher. a machine for increasing the kinetic energy of subatomic particles or atomic nuclei and focusing them on a target
(chem) a substance that increases the speed of a chemical reaction, esp one that increases the rate of vulcanization of rubber, the rate of development in photography, the rate of setting of synthetic resins, or the rate of setting of concrete; catalyst
(economics) (in an economy) the relationship between the rate of change in output or sales and the consequent change in the level of investment
(anatomy) a muscle or nerve that increases the rate of a function
n.

1610s, from Latin accelerator, agent noun from accelerare (see accelerate). Motor vehicle sense is from 1900.

accelerator ac·cel·er·a·tor (āk-sěl’ə-rā’tər)
n.

One that increases rapidity of action or function.

A nerve, muscle, or substance that quickens movement or response.

A catalyst.

hardware
Additional hardware to perform some function faster than is possible in software running on the normal CPU. Examples include graphics accelerators and floating-point accelerators.
(1994-11-08)

Read Also:

  • Accelerator board

    a printed circuit board added to a computer that enhances the CPU with a faster microprocessor.

  • Accelerator factor

    accelerator factor accelerator factor n. See factor V.

  • Accelerator fiber

    accelerator fiber accelerator fiber n. Any of the postganglionic sympathetic nerve fibers that originate in the superior middle and inferior cervical ganglia of the sympathetic trunk and convey impulses to the heart that tend to increase the rapidity and force of the cardiac pulsations.

  • Accelerator mass spectrometry

    a type of mass spectrometry used in radiocarbon dating in which the proportion of carbon isotopes is counted directly, as contrasted with the indirect Geiger counter method, using an accelerator that drastically reduces the quantity of datable material required.

  • Accelerator globulin

    accelerator globulin accelerator globulin n. Variant of serum accelerator globulin.


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