accelerate

verb

1 the car accelerated down the hill:

speed up, hurry up, get faster, move faster, go faster, drive faster, get a move on, put on a spurt, open it up, gain momentum, increase speed, pick up speed, gather speed;

informal step on the gas, step on it, get cracking, get moving;

North American, informal get a wiggle on;

Australian, informal get a wriggle on.

▷antonyms decelerate, slow down.

2 inflation started to accelerate:

increase, rise, go up, advance, leap, surge, speed up, escalate, spiral, get worse.

▷antonyms slow down, drop.

3 the University has accelerated its planning process:

hasten, expedite, precipitate, speed, speed up, hurry up, make faster, step up, advance, further, forward, promote, boost, give a boost to, stimulate, spur on;

aid, assist, help along, facilitate, ease, make easier, simplify;

informal crank up.

▷antonyms delay, slow down.