From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishacceleratorac‧cel‧e‧ra‧tor /əkˈseləreɪtə $ -ər/ noun [countable] 1 TTCthe part of a car or other vehicle that you press with your foot to make it go faster SYN gas pedal American English2 technical a large machine used to make extremely small pieces of matter1(3) move at extremely high speeds
Examples from the Corpus
accelerator• As the taxi-driver played the brake and accelerator game and jolted him through the dark London streets, Mark considered his position.• Clayt turned the engine over and felt for the accelerator with his toe and backed into the Harpswell Road.• You press on the accelerator and begin backing out.• I pulled out of the eight, stamped the accelerator down through the floor and drove for a gate.• I can set this cruise control to any speed I want and it drives without me having to touch the accelerator.• The accelerators could also be used for food sterilization and other applications.From Longman Business Dictionaryacceleratorac‧cel‧e‧ra‧tor /əkˈseləreɪtə-ər/ noun [singular]ECONOMICS1the principle that when demand for goods rises and falls, investment rises and falls by even larger amounts2when a government uses the accelerator, it encourages demand as a way of controlling the economyMinisters need to time their use of the economic brake or accelerator carefully. 