accumulator
n. countablen. a person or thing that collects and stores something over time. In computing, it is a special part of a processor that holds data while it is being worked on.
n. a person or device that collects, stores, or accumulates something, such as data, energy, or interest. In computer architecture, it refers to a register used to store intermediate arithmetic and logic results.
The processor uses an accumulator to store the final result.
The bank account acts as an interest accumulator, growing the principal amount every month.
In early mechanical calculators, the accumulator was a physical register that held the running total of a calculation before it was transferred to the output display.
From Latin accumulātor, agent noun of accumulō (“pile up”), accumulate + -or.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 30, 2026