extrapolate

[ ik-strap-uh-leyt ]
See synonyms for: extrapolateextrapolatedextrapolatingextrapolation on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ex·trap·o·lat·ed, ex·trap·o·lat·ing.
  1. to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.

  2. Statistics. to estimate (the value of a variable) outside the tabulated or observed range.

  1. 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.
  1. to perform extrapolation.

Origin of extrapolate

1
First recorded in 1825–35; extra- + (inter)polate

Other words from extrapolate

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

Words that may be confused with extrapolate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use extrapolate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for extrapolate

extrapolate

/ (ɪkˈstræpəˌleɪt) /


verb
  1. maths to estimate (a value of a function or measurement) beyond the values already known, by the extension of a curve: Compare interpolate (def. 4)

  2. to infer (something not known) by using but not strictly deducing from the known facts

Origin of extrapolate

1
C19: extra- + -polate, as in interpolate

Derived forms of extrapolate

  • extrapolation, noun
  • extrapolative or extrapolatory, adjective
  • extrapolator, noun

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 extrapolate

extrapolate

[ ĭk-străpə-lāt′ ]


  1. 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.