An accumulator is a device or mechanism that collects and stores quantities, usually converting input into a stored form for later use. In computing, it refers to a variable or register that adds incoming values to a running total. More broadly, it can denote a person or thing that gathers or amasses things over time.
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US: rhotic /ɹ/ in final syllable, might be quick /tɔɹ/; UK/AU: non-rhotic ending; vowel quality in second syllable is a precise /kjʊ/ or /kjuː/ depending on speaker. Use IPA: US /ˌæ.kjuːˈmjəˌleɪ.tɚ/, UK /əˈkjuː.mjəˌleɪ.tə/. Focus on longer central vowel in the second syllable, and a slight rounding of lips at /juː/.
"The data logger functions as an accumulator, storing readings for later analysis."
"Her pension acts as a financial accumulator, growing interest over decades."
"The software uses an integer accumulator to sum the values as they stream in."
"In physics, an accumulator capacitor stores charge for short bursts of energy."
Accumulator comes from the Latin accumulare, formed from ad- ‘toward, toward’ + cummulare ‘to heap up, pile up,’ itself from cumulus ‘a heap, pile.’ The term entered English via late Latin and Old French through the 17th–18th centuries, originally meaning ‘one who gathers or piles up.’ In technical use, dating to the emergence of mechanical and electrical devices for storing input, the word shifted to denote a device that stores quantities or sums. By the 19th and 20th centuries, accumulator found specialized meanings: a device that collects charge (capacitors or batteries), a mathematical variable that accumulates additions, and later a generic term for any storage component or agent of accumulation in computing and process control. First known uses appear in scientific and mathematical texts discussing accumulation processes, with its precise modern sense stabilizing in engineering and computer science. Today, it spans mechanical, electrical, and software contexts, retaining the core idea of gathering and preserving a quantity over time.
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Words that rhyme with "accumulator"
-tor sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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US/UKAU pronunciation centers the stress on the second syllable: ac-CUM-u-la-tor. IPA: US ˈə.kjuː.mjə.leɪ.tər; UK and AU similar: /əkˈjuː.mjuː.leɪ.tə/ or /əkˈjuː.mjʊ.leɪ.tə/. Focus on the /kj/ blend after the first syllable and a clear /l/ in the fourth syllable. The ‘tor’ ends with a soft /ər/ or /ɚ/ in US. Audio references you can check include Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries or Forvo pronunciations.
Common errors: rushing the second syllable so /kjuː/ blurs with /mjə/; misplacing stress on the first or third syllable. Another is pronouncing the /tj/ cluster as a hard /t/ without the subtle /dʒ/ or /mj/ sound, yielding ac-kyoo-myu-lay-tor. Correction: ensure the second syllable carries primary stress, pronounce /kjʊ/ or /kjuː/ as a single, tense glide into /mjə/; keep the /l/ light and avoid truncating the final /ər/.
US tends toward /ˈæk.juː.mjə.leɪ.tɔːr/ with rhotic final /ɹ/; UK/AU default to /əkˈjuː.mjə.leɪ.tə/ and non-rhotic endings may drop the /r/ in some dialects. Vowel length and rhoticity shift slightly: US may pronounce /ˈæ/ in the first syllable as a shorter vowel, with /ˈɹ/ pronounced; UK/AU keep non-rhotic /ə/ in first syllable and a clearer /tə/ ending. IPA guidance aligns with Cambridge/Oxford entries.
Three main challenges: the mid-stress shift to the second syllable can be easy to misplace; the /kj/ cluster after the first vowel requires a precise blend of /k/ + /j/ with minimal vowel separation; and the final /tər/ or /tə/ can reduce to a schwa-t. Practice keeping the /kj/连续 blend, emphasize the second syllable, and keep the final /ər/ rounded but not overly pronounced.
There are no silent letters in accumulator. The key is to articulate every syllable clearly: ac-CUM-u-la-tor; the 't' is pronounced before the final /ər/, and the /lj/ transition in some dialects is realized as /lj/ or /l/+glide. The unique issue is maintaining the secondary stress pattern across multi-syllable structure while keeping a steady pace.
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