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to increase the speed of something; to make something go faster
科学家正在加速研发新的疫苗。
Scientists are speeding up the development of new vaccines.
政府出台政策加速经济复苏。
The government introduced policies to accelerate economic recovery.
Commonly used in both physical and metaphorical contexts (e.g., progress, development).
to accelerate (in physics or engineering)
火箭加速进入轨道。
The rocket accelerated into orbit.
Technical term in physics/engineering for increasing velocity.
Don't confuse '加速' (to speed up) with '加班' (jiābān, 'to work overtime'). The latter is unrelated to speed.
Use '加速' for both literal (e.g., cars) and figurative (e.g., progress) contexts. For abstract concepts like 'time,' use '加快' (e.g., '时间加快' = 'time speeds up').
From Chinese '加' (jiā, 'to add') + '速' (sù, 'speed'), first attested in classical Chinese texts. The compound meaning 'to increase speed' emerged in modern usage.
1. Often used with objects like '汽车' (car), '经济' (economy), or '研发' (R&D). 2. In physics, it specifically refers to increasing velocity over time. 3. Can be used metaphorically (e.g., '加速改革' = 'accelerate reforms').