accelerants

Noun

accelerant (plural accelerants)

1. In the context of fire protection, a substance that accelerates the development of a fire, especially some hydrocarbon-based fuel used to spread a fire caused by arson.
   • Accelerant was poured across the beds where the two daughters of a family in Cheshire, Conn., had been tied before a fire during a home invasion in 2007, a fire investigator told jurors on Friday.2010 September 25, William Glaberson, “Accelerant Was on Girls’ Beds, Witness Tells a Connecticut Jury”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
2. A substance used to catalyze the vulcanization of rubber.
3. (figuratively) Something that speeds up a process or the uptake of something else.
   • Hello Neighbor’s experience reflects the rise of video sites like YouTube as an accelerant for the video game business.2017 August 16, Laura Hudson, “Using YouTube as an Accelerant for Video Games”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

See all 4 meanings of accelerant