accumulating
Piling up steadily
Accumulating is the ongoing process of gathering or building up over time.
Dust accumulates on shelves, wealth accumulates in accounts, evidence accumulates against a suspect.
The word emphasizes gradual increase rather than sudden acquisition: Years of accumulating clutter finally forced them to clean out the garage.
What accumulates may be desirable or not—savings or debt, knowledge or grievances.
Gathering items over time
- amassingCollecting in quantity
- stockpilingAccumulating supplies in quantity
- hoardingExcessive accumulation of goods
- compilingGathering into unified whole
aggregating · assembling · heaping · piling · bundling · massing · harvesting · accruing
Enclosed roofed structure
- mountingSteadily increasing in degree
- increasingBecoming greater in amount
- expandingGrowing in scope
- escalatingIncreasing by degrees
proliferating · multiplying · swelling · ballooning · snowballing · compounding · amplifying · intensifying
Returning profits to principal
- appreciatingRecognizing value or quality
- capitalizingProfiting from circumstances
- nest eggSaved money for later
- portfolio growthIncrease in investment value
dividends · returns · equity · principal · accrued interest · financial gain · net worth · inheritance
Gaining knowledge gradually
- studyingDeliberate learning effort
- absorbingHolding attention completely
- assimilatingAbsorbing into a whole
- educatingTeaching or training someone
researching · mastering · intellectual growth · lifelong learning · scholarship · erudition
Overdue financial obligations
- outstanding balanceSum still due
- credit card debtMoney owed on plastic
- loansBorrowed money arrangements
- deficitAmount still owed
financial burden · obligations · owing · indebtedness · unpaid · delinquent · back taxes · overdraft
collecting
Gathering items over time
- amassingCollecting in quantity
- stockpilingAccumulating supplies in quantity
- hoardingExcessive accumulation of goods
compiling · aggregating · assembling · heaping · piling · bundling · massing · harvesting · accruing · acquiring
building
Enclosed roofed structure
- mountingSteadily increasing in degree
- increasingBecoming greater in amount
- expandingGrowing in scope
escalating · proliferating · multiplying · swelling · ballooning · snowballing · compounding · amplifying · intensifying · burgeoning
reinvesting
Returning profits to principal
- appreciatingRecognizing value or quality
- capitalizingProfiting from circumstances
- nest eggSaved money for later
portfolio growth · dividends · returns · equity · principal · accrued interest · financial gain · net worth · inheritance · endowment
learning
Gaining knowledge gradually
- studyingDeliberate learning effort
- absorbingHolding attention completely
- assimilatingAbsorbing into a whole
educating · researching · mastering · intellectual growth · lifelong learning · scholarship · erudition
arrears
Overdue financial obligations
- outstanding balanceSum still due
- credit card debtMoney owed on plastic
- loansBorrowed money arrangements
deficit · financial burden · obligations · owing · indebtedness · unpaid · delinquent · back taxes · overdraft · negative balance
- acquiringobtaining, getting, grabbing, seizing, taking
- gatheringgathering, collecting, amassing, compiling, hoarding
- hoardinghoarding, clutter, collecting, stockpiling, pack rat
- Stockpilingstockpiling, reserves, storage, hoarding, stocking up
- buying upstockpiling, hoarding, amassing, bulk buying, panic buying
- growthgrowth, grow, growing, growth rate, increase
accumulatingdecreasing
Becoming smaller or fewer
declining · diminishing · dwindling · shrinking · reducing
accumulatingdispersing
Spreading widely apart
scattering · dissipating · spreading · distributing · diffusing
- snow accumulationGathered frozen precipitation depth
- accumulation zoneWhere ice sheet grows
- wealth accumulationProcess of gathering assets