calculate
Americanverb (used with object)
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calculates,
present (3rd person singular)
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calculated,
past participle, past
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calculating
present participle
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to determine or ascertain by mathematical methods; compute.
to calculate the velocity of light.
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to determine by reasoning, common sense, or practical experience; estimate; evaluate; gauge.
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to make suitable or fit for a purpose; adapt (usually used passively and with an infinitive).
His remarks were calculated to inspire our confidence.
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Chiefly Northern U.S.
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to think; guess.
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to intend; plan.
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verb (used without object)
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calculates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
calculated,
past participle, past
-
calculating
present participle
-
to make a computation or form an estimate.
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to count or rely (usually followed by on orupon ).
They calculated on good weather.
verb
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to solve (one or more problems) by a mathematical procedure; compute
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to determine beforehand by judgment, reasoning, etc; estimate
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(tr; usually passive) to design specifically; aim
the car was calculated to appeal to women
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to depend; rely
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dialect (tr; may take a clause as object)
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to suppose; think
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to intend (to do something)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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calculatesimple
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calculatessimple
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have calculatedperfect
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has calculatedperfect
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am calculatingprogressive
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are calculatingprogressive
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is calculatingprogressive
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have been calculatingperfect progressive
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has been calculatingperfect progressive
Past
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calculatedsimple
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had calculatedperfect
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was calculatingprogressive
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were calculatingprogressive
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had been calculatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of calculate
First recorded in 1560–70; from Late Latin calculātus “reckoned,” past participle of calculāre “to reckon,” derivative of calculus “pebble”; see calculus
Explanation
To calculate is to compute, by figuring out a mathematical equation or a situation. You can calculate your monthly student loan payments, or calculate the risk of not paying them on time. Calculate derives from the Latin word for "count." When you calculate, you either count something up or calculate on something happening. You might be able to calculate the answer to a simple equation in your head but need a calculator to figure out a more complex problem. And when someone is calculating, they are scheming or conniving, always figuring out the fastest way to get ahead.
Vocabulary lists containing calculate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Pi Day Vocabulary
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"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Scientists at Caltech and Yale University have developed a way to precisely calculate the Kondo effect in specific real materials, something that had not previously been possible.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
The Journal used DHS’s published funding formula to calculate eligible reimbursement amounts; 14 agencies in five states confirmed those findings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Carbon Mapper doesn’t have similar numbers for landfills because methods to calculate the impacts of repairs are still being developed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
For about 40 years, physicists have used conformal field theories to calculate how far apart those energy rungs should be.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Of course not. We need to conduct a control and then calculate a few variables.”
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
China’s population will fall below the U.S.’s in about a century, Jesús Fernandez-Villaverde of the University of Pennsylvania, who specializes in demographics, calculates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Nobody calculates how hungry they are with their entrée still twenty minutes away.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Sarah Godwin calculates it cost her family's Wiltshire farm "over £100,000".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Wednesday's revisions to PCE data were due to planned methodological changes, including to how the BEA calculates prices for computer-related products, portfolio management and legal services.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Brainvox calculates sixteen possible paths for the iron to follow through Phineas's head.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
The Champions League place is calculated to be worth £32.6m - the £39m earned by Manchester City minus the Toffees' £6.4m winnings from the Europa League they competed in instead.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Using age 50 as a reference point, the team calculated how loneliness and social isolation were associated with the number of years participants could expect to live without these diseases.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Under current rules, up to $50,000 of a home’s value can be excluded when property taxes are calculated.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The state agency calculated that the district has classroom capacity for about 718,475 students, compared with a 2025-26 enrollment of 353,065, “representing an overall utilization rate of approximately 49.1%.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Julia calculated, “Better than ninety percent chance that Tom's okay, then.”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
The Journal’s analysis omitted Tesla when calculating aggregates and trends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Companies are also taking a hard look at pricier expedited orders, calculating whether some customers can wait or even if some can pick up their orders themselves.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Home prices also aren’t included—the Labor Department calculates housing prices by calculating how much it would cost owners to rent the homes they live in rather than what those homes would cost to buy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
“We don’t use that number as a form of calculating how we compensate, because it can be fairly arbitrary,” Tiley said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
She kept muttering to herself, counting out yards of silk and calculating the number of strands her project would require.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
