noun

accumulation

uh-kyoo-myuh-LAY-shuhn/əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃn/

A gradual gathering or increase in amount.

The sequence shows the gradual accumulation of leaves around the bench.

Three left-to-right stages show fallen leaves gradually accumulating around the same garden bench: a few scattered leaves, a shallow gathering, then a substantial heap, with additional leaves descending in each stage.

Etymology

acLatinto; perhaps emphatic here

+cumulLatinheap

+ationLatinaction or process

The central image is a heap: accumulation names both what has been heaped up and the process of gathering it. That image extends naturally to a gradual buildup of things.

In context

Revolutionary Communist Party26:24

you get a gradual accumulation of small changes quantitative changes beneath the surface within processes that go unnoticed and then burst to the surface at a certain point

The revolutionary ideas of Friedrich Engels

More examples

The accumulation of small errors caused the failure.
The study measured sediment accumulation.
Years of accumulation filled the storage room.

Forms

accumulation

accumulate verb — gather or increase gradually

Similar words

buildup: Buildup is the everyday equivalent for gradual accumulation.
collection: A collection may be deliberately assembled; accumulation can happen gradually without planning.