accelerator
accelerator — noun
1. A flat bar or pedal inside a car, truck, or other vehicle. When you push it with
A flat bar or pedal inside a car, truck, or other vehicle. When you push it with your foot, the engine runs faster and the vehicle speeds up.
Mei-Lin pressed the accelerator hard as she merged onto the highway.
collocation: press + the accelerator
The driving instructor told Ahmed to keep his foot away from the accelerator.
Elena took her foot off the accelerator and let the car slow down naturally.
Kenji checked the mirrors before pressing the accelerator to change lanes.
In an electric car, the accelerator feels different from the one in a petrol car.
- brake
The pedal that slows the vehicle down, opposite in function to the accelerator.
文法句型
the accelerator
press / step on + the accelerator
用法筆記
In American English, 'gas pedal' is more common in everyday speech than 'accelerator', though both are understood.
常見錯誤
2. A large scientific machine that pushes tiny pieces of matter, such as electrons
A large scientific machine that pushes tiny pieces of matter, such as electrons or protons, to extremely high speeds so that physicists can study what they are made of and how they behave.
Scientists at CERN use the world's largest particle accelerator to study atoms.
compound noun: particle accelerator
A new accelerator is being built just outside Osaka for nuclear research.
Professor Okafor explained how the accelerator pushes protons to nearly the speed of light.
Building a particle accelerator can cost billions of dollars.
The accelerator sends particles running around a huge circular tunnel underground.
- atom smasher
Informal, non-technical term for a particle accelerator; common in journalism and general interest articles.
文法句型
particle accelerator
a / the accelerator
用法筆記
Commonly appears as the compound noun 'particle accelerator'. The most famous example is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.
常見錯誤
3. A short-term program or company that offers new businesses money, advice, office
A short-term program or company that offers new businesses money, advice, office space, and connections to help them grow quickly and increase their chances of success.
The startup accelerator helped Fatima turn her small idea into a real company.
collocation: startup accelerator
Dozens of tech accelerators now operate across Southeast Asia and Africa.
Graduates of this accelerator have raised over fifty million dollars in total.
The Watanabe family's investment fund runs an accelerator for food-tech startups.
Oluwaseun applied to three different accelerators before being accepted into one.
- business incubator
Similar but not identical: incubators offer longer-term support and usually don't take equity upfront; accelerators are time-limited and intensive.
文法句型
an accelerator (program)
startup accelerator
business accelerator
用法筆記
Often contrasted with 'incubator': an accelerator usually runs for a fixed short period (often 3-6 months) and provides funding upfront, whereas an incubator offers space and support for a more flexible, longer duration.
常見錯誤
4. A substance that you add to a chemical mixture to make the reaction happen faste
A substance that you add to a chemical mixture to make the reaction happen faster while the substance itself stays unchanged at the end.
The lab assistant added an accelerator to speed up the curing process of the glue.
collocation: add + an accelerator
Concrete sets much faster when the workers mix in a chemical accelerator.
compound noun: chemical accelerator
Dr. Nakamura tested three different accelerators for the rubber manufacturing formula.
A small amount of accelerator reduced the chemical reaction time by half.
Without the accelerator, the two-part epoxy would take hours to harden fully.
- catalyst
A broader term; all accelerators are catalysts, but not all catalysts are primarily used for speed. 'Catalyst' is more formal and scientific.
- inhibitor
A substance that slows down or stops a chemical reaction.
文法句型
chemical accelerator
an accelerator (in chemistry)
用法筆記
Closely related to 'catalyst'. In chemistry, most accelerators are a type of catalyst, though 'accelerator' emphasises the speed aspect while 'catalyst' emphasises the enabling mechanism.