extrapolate

[ ik-strap-uh-leyt ]
/ ɪkˈstræp əˌleɪt /

verb (used with object), ex·trap·o·lat·ed, ex·trap·o·lat·ing.

to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.
Statistics. to estimate (the value of a variable) outside the tabulated or observed range.
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), ex·trap·o·lat·ed, ex·trap·o·lat·ing.

to perform extrapolation.

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Origin of extrapolate

First recorded in 1825–35; extra- + (inter)polate

OTHER WORDS FROM extrapolate

ex·trap·o·la·tion, nounex·trap·o·la·tive, ex·trap·o·la·to·ry [ik-strap-uh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ɪkˈstræp ə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectiveex·trap·o·la·tor, nouno·ver·ex·trap·o·la·tion, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH extrapolate

deduction extrapolation induction generalization hypothesis

Words nearby extrapolate

extraordinary wave, extraperitoneal fascia, extraphysical, extraphysiologic, extraplanetary, extrapolate, extrapolation, extrapose, extraposition, extraprofessional, extrapyramidal
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for extrapolative

extrapolate
/ (ɪkˈstræpəˌleɪt) /

verb

maths to estimate (a value of a function or measurement) beyond the values already known, by the extension of a curveCompare interpolate (def. 4)
to infer (something not known) by using but not strictly deducing from the known facts

Derived forms of extrapolate

extrapolation, nounextrapolative or extrapolatory, adjectiveextrapolator, noun

Word Origin for extrapolate

C19: extra- + -polate, as in interpolate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for extrapolative

extrapolate
[ ĭk-străp′ə-lāt′ ]

To estimate the value of a quantity that falls outside the range in which its values are known.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.