buildups
Slow steady growths
Buildups is the plural of buildup—gradual accumulations or increases over time.
Military buildups mass troops and equipment: The buildups along the border alarmed neighboring countries.
Traffic buildups are congestion.
Emotional buildups are mounting tension or anticipation.
The word often implies something approaching a critical point: After weeks of buildups, the announcement felt anticlimactic.
Material settled or stored
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- plaqueInscribed memorial tablet
- residueMatter left behind
- tartarHardened dental plaque
scale · grime · sludge · layers · accretion · encrustation · mineral deposits · calcium
Relocation of military forces
- deploymentOrganized distribution of resources
- mobilizationOrganizing for action
- reinforcementsAdditional troops sent in
- amassingCollecting in quantity
staging · escalation · forces · armament · positioning · strategic · offensive · concentration
Anxious uncertainty about outcomes
- tensionStretched or strained state
- excitementState of eager enthusiasm
- crescendoGradual increase in loudness
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
momentum · hype · anticipation · drama · lead-up · prelude · rising action · expectation
Gathered quantities over time
- increasesBecomes greater in amount
- escalationsIncreases in intensity
- progressionsOrdered forward movements
- intensificationsIncreases in strength
expansions · growths · developments · swells · surges · rises · gradations · amplifications
Movement along routes
- gridlockComplete mutual obstruction
- bottleneckConstriction limiting throughput
- backupStored duplicate for recovery
- queueOrdered waiting line
jam · slowdown · standstill · rush hour · commute · highway · intersection · logjam
deposits
Material settled or stored
tartar · scale · grime · sludge · layers · accretion · encrustation · mineral deposits · calcium · lime
troop movements
Relocation of military forces
- deploymentOrganized distribution of resources
- mobilizationOrganizing for action
- reinforcementsAdditional troops sent in
amassing · staging · escalation · forces · armament · positioning · strategic · offensive · concentration · logistics
suspense
Anxious uncertainty about outcomes
- tensionStretched or strained state
- excitementState of eager enthusiasm
- crescendoGradual increase in loudness
climax · momentum · hype · anticipation · drama · lead-up · prelude · rising action · expectation · dramatic tension
accumulations
Gathered quantities over time
- increasesBecomes greater in amount
- escalationsIncreases in intensity
- progressionsOrdered forward movements
intensifications · expansions · growths · developments · swells · surges · rises · gradations · amplifications · multiplications
traffic
Movement along routes
- gridlockComplete mutual obstruction
- bottleneckConstriction limiting throughput
- backupStored duplicate for recovery
queue · jam · slowdown · standstill · rush hour · commute · highway · intersection · logjam · snarl
- clumpsclumps, lumps, blobs, globs, gobs
- DJingscratching, beatmatching, crossfader, turntable, mixing
- sprint trainingsprints, standing starts, starts, wind sprints, hill sprints
- audio samplessamples, loops, vocal samples, one-shots, one shots
- music arrangingorchestration, transcription, instrumentation, lead sheets, string arrangements
buildupsreductions
Acts of lessening
decreases · declines · depletions · drawdowns · losses
buildupsdrawdowns
Gradual reductions from reserves
withdrawals · pullouts · demobilizations · reductions · pullbacks
- fluid buildup
- plaque buildupFatty arterial deposits
- military buildupExpansion of armed forces
- ice buildupAccumulated frozen water
- heat buildupGradual temperature increase
- ear wax buildupExcess cerumen in canal