forecast
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to predict (a future condition or occurrence); calculate in advance.
to forecast a heavy snowfall; to forecast lower interest rates.
- Synonyms:
- anticipate, foretell
-
to serve as a prediction of; foreshadow.
-
to contrive or plan beforehand; prearrange.
- Synonyms:
- project
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a prediction, especially as to the weather.
-
a conjecture as to something in the future.
-
the act, practice, or faculty of forecasting.
-
Archaic. foresight in planning.
- Synonyms:
- prescience, forethought
verb
-
to predict or calculate (weather, events, etc), in advance
-
(tr) to serve as an early indication of
-
(tr) to plan in advance
noun
-
a statement of probable future weather conditions calculated from meteorological data
-
a prophecy or prediction
-
the practice or power of forecasting
Related Words
See predict.
Other Word Forms
- forecastable adjective
- forecaster noun
- reforecast verb (used with object)reforecast, reforecasted, reforecasting
- unforecast adjective
- unforecasted adjective
Etymology
Origin of forecast
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English (verb) “to plan ahead of time”; fore-, cast ( def. )
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.
The profit forecast includes a $300 million benefit from the oil refinery in Pennsylvania that Delta bought in 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Fed officials stuck to a forecast of one rate cut this year, but economists think the central bank is in no rush to do anything with rates.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
You can keep up to date with the longer range forecast here.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Refinery runs were forecast to have risen by a half percentage point in the Journal survey.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
“What goes through your mind when you wake up in the morning and hear the weather forecast is eighty and sunny?”
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
