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 Nor’easter is forecast to bring one to two feet of snow and 40 mph to 70 mph winds, creating impossible travel and potential power outages.
From Barron's
The storm’s forecast had changed rapidly in recent days.
The final has been pushed back to 0940 GMT on Sunday, the final day of competition in Italy, with better weather forecast.
From Barron's
The city was expecting as much as 17 inches of snow, with snowfall rates forecast to reach as much as 2 inches per hour.
One example: In the third quarter of last year, China kept buying oil “way beyond what they usually consume,” Kaneva said, noting that the models analysts use to forecast oil prices “broke down.”
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.
