extrapolation

American  

[ik-strap-uh-ley-shuhn] / ɪkˌstræp əˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of inferring an unknown from something that is known.

2. Statistics, Mathematics. the act or process of estimating the value of a variable or function outside the tabulated or observed range.

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extrapolation Cultural  

1. A mathematical procedure designed to enable one to estimate unknown values of a parameter from known values. A common method of extrapolation is to look at data on a curve, then extend the curve into regions for which there is no data. Extrapolation is often used to predict the future.

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Etymology

Origin of extrapolation

First recorded in 1870–75; extrapolat(e) + -(t)ion

Example Sentences

“We’re doing a big extrapolation from watching videos of robots doing laundry to a butler in my house that can do everything,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

“When you look into the Feast of Seven Fishes, it’s sort of an extrapolation of that.”

From Salon

In 2016, he co-authored an analysis published in The BMJ asserting that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States—a claim critics have dismissed as a wild extrapolation.

From Science Magazine

Simple extrapolations from the impacts of invasive alien species observed today are likely to underestimate the magnitude of future impacts.

From Science Daily

Following the classical model, the AI compares information against learned examples, draws conclusions, and makes extrapolations.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• calculation
• estimate
• estimation
• forecast