extrapolate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.
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Statistics. to estimate (the value of a variable) outside the tabulated or observed range.
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Mathematics. to estimate (a function that is known over a range of values of its independent variable) to values outside the known range.
verb (used without object)
verb
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maths to estimate (a value of a function or measurement) beyond the values already known, by the extension of a curve Compare interpolate
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to infer (something not known) by using but not strictly deducing from the known facts
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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extrapolationnoun
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extrapolatornoun
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overextrapolationnoun
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extrapolativeadjective
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extrapolatoryadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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extrapolatesimple
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extrapolatessimple
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have extrapolatedperfect
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has extrapolatedperfect
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am extrapolatingprogressive
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are extrapolatingprogressive
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is extrapolatingprogressive
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have been extrapolatingperfect progressive
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has been extrapolatingperfect progressive
Past
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extrapolatedsimple
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had extrapolatedperfect
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was extrapolatingprogressive
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were extrapolatingprogressive
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had been extrapolatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of extrapolate
First recorded in 1825–35; extra- + (inter)polate
Explanation
When you extrapolate, you use specific details to make a general conclusion. For example, if you travel to Canada and encounter only friendly, kind natives, you might extrapolate that all Canadians are friendly. The verb extrapolate can mean "to predict future outcomes based on known facts." For example, looking at your current grade report for math and how you are doing in class now, you could extrapolate that you'll likely earn a solid B for the year. Another meaning of extrapolate is "estimate the value of." You could extrapolate how much your antique watch is worth by finding how much similar watches sold for at recent auctions.
Vocabulary lists containing extrapolate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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Unbroken
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Hidden Figures
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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:
The West Coast appellate judges said it was “inappropriate” to extrapolate intent from one element of the crime, such as making a contract, to another, like the agreed-upon death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
There’s another reason not to extrapolate recent decades’ huge success for U.S. equities.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
"If you extrapolate back, then perhaps the first ones were soft-bodied creatures with entirely organic skeletons and no minerals at all," Xiao said.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2026
Mr Justice Nicklin started to ask what the best single piece of evidence for each article was, and Sherborne was forced to say: "We are asking your lordship to extrapolate."
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
Merely rational thought—forgive me for preaching, but I must, I must!—merely rational thought leaves the mind incurably crippled in a closed and ossified system, it can only extrapolate from the past.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Ms. Snider’s libretto fictionalizes and extrapolates from the historical record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
Instead, he extrapolates non-human data to people, using in vitro studies, or in vivo studies on non-human animals, to make prescriptive recommendations for lifestyle changes.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2024
The U-M system takes GPS data from a percentage of vehicles on the road and extrapolates traffic patterns.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024
The book extrapolates that this restaurant may have been the Knickerbocker Hotel.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2022
It extrapolates from current events to remind us of the ever-growing threats to liberty.
From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory
But the stock market has “taken this demand and extrapolated it into the future,” with chip and memory stocks adding $7.8 trillion in market cap this year.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026
The elegiac opening and closing chapters, in which Crowther imagines visiting Monroe’s home and scanning her shelves, also add to the feeling that too much is being extrapolated out of not enough information.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026
The paradox arises only if we insist on describing horizons using a single, one-sided arrow of time extrapolated to infinity — an assumption quantum mechanics itself does not require.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
That data can ultimately be extrapolated to regions where there isn’t much flood information to help predict sudden rainfall, Google said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
His head is full of statistics, facts and figures extrapolated into thousands of different combinations and comparisons.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
“The market is likely extrapolating the swift, thus far, recovery of Mideast supply and already pricing expected future surpluses,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
I remember thinking that wealth is a great barrier to harm and then feeling silly for extrapolating my own experience once again.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
No matter the reading, investors should be careful about extrapolating March’s trend into the coming months.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
What’s important is understanding how human hands can grasp an object, and then extrapolating that to whatever synthetic appendage has been chosen, she added.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 27, 2025
But there are good reasons to be very careful in extrapolating from modern forager societies to ancient ones.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
