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:
So before making a decision, stress-test three numbers: your estimated Social Security benefit at 64, 67 and 70, and separately calculate 50% of your husband’s FRA benefit.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
China doesn’t publish the size of its strategic oil reserves or reveal its oil consumption, forcing analysts to calculate “apparent demand” by adding up official refinery throughput and net imports of refined oil products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
The effect on this year’s overall increase is impossible to calculate, but it probably would have pushed it up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Fundamental particles such as electrons are instead described by a "wavefunction," a mathematical representation that researchers can use to calculate the probabilities of properties such as position and momentum.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
Someone would share an idea that I’d have to calculate.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
At the $25 million transaction price in Capstone shares, Hutchison calculates that Capstone paid less than a cent per pound for the copper resources alone, excluding by-product credits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The ACA Marketplace calculates her premium based on her age, location, household size and expected household income for the entire calendar year, not necessarily her own individual income.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
The most expensive purchase, she calculates, were the windows at £30,000, while one of the cheapest measures was making the whole house airtight, which cost £5,000.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The bank calculates that total revenue for the index excluding energy and financial companies, and adjusted for inflation and currency changes, is up around 8%, much more than GDP.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Sometimes I think Garrett calculates the exact most awkward way to position his body in any given moment, and then he just goes for it.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
The complicated way the statistic is calculated, and relatively small changes from year to year, can obscure the larger improvements in public health over time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The P/E ratios compare with weighted valuations of 19.9 for the S&P 500 and 16 for the S&P MidCap 400, as calculated by FactSet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Using those measurements, it calculated Starling's position while also refining the estimated locations of other objects in space.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Researchers calculated a "conservative minimum" of CTE prevalence among those who died in the six-year period to be 24.5% - rising to a "maximum" 97.7%.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
It looks like it could fall over pretty easily, but it’s been calculated that it would take a wind force of seventy-eight tons to knock it over.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
Sherriff ordered the Labor Department to “promptly produce” a new methodology for calculating H-2A wage rates consistent with his decision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
“We in the West have made a strategic planning mistake in not calculating interceptors against ballistic missiles that are produced,” said Lange, the former German defense official.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Depending on who is doing the calculating, whether or not an Omen occurred on a given day can vary.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
You can test how “nicely” a function moves everything around in space by calculating something called the Jacobian determinant.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
A sense of calculating purpose that snuffed out all the anger, dried up all his tears.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
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.
