interpolate

American  

[in-tur-puh-leyt] / ɪnˈtɜr pəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

• interpolates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• interpolated,
  past participle,  past
• interpolating
  present participle

1. to introduce (something additional or extraneous) between other things or parts; interject; interpose; intercalate.

2. Mathematics. to insert, estimate, or find an intermediate term in (a sequence).

3. to alter (a text) by the insertion of new matter, especially deceptively or without authorization.

4. to insert (new or spurious matter) in this manner.

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verb (used without object)

• interpolates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• interpolated,
  past participle,  past
• interpolating
  present participle

1. to make an interpolation.

interpolate British  

/ ɪnˈtɜːpəˌleɪt /

verb

1. to insert or introduce (a comment, passage, etc) into (a conversation, text, etc)

2. to falsify or alter (a text, manuscript, etc) by the later addition of (material, esp spurious or valueless passages)

3. (intr) to make additions, interruptions, or insertions

4. maths to estimate (a value of a function) between the values already known or determined Compare extrapolate

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interpolater
  noun
• interpolator
  noun
• interpolable
  adjective
• interpolative
  adjective
• interpolatory
  adjective
• noninterpolating
  adjective
• noninterpolative
  adjective
• uninterpolated
  adjective
• uninterpolative
  adjective
• interpolatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• interpolating
  present
• interpolated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• interpolate
  simple
• interpolates
  simple
• have interpolated
  perfect
• has interpolated
  perfect
• am interpolating
  progressive
• are interpolating
  progressive
• is interpolating
  progressive
• have been interpolating
  perfect progressive
• has been interpolating
  perfect progressive

Past

• interpolated
  simple
• had interpolated
  perfect
• was interpolating
  progressive
• were interpolating
  progressive
• had been interpolating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will interpolate
  simple
• will have interpolated
  perfect
• will be interpolating
  progressive
• will have been interpolating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of interpolate

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin interpolātus, past participle of interpolāre “to make new, refurbish, touch up,” equivalent to inter- “between, among, together” + -polā- verb stem (akin to polīre “to polish”) + -tus past participle suffix; see inter-, polish

Explanation

When you interpolate words into a text, you alter the text by adding words in. If you’re describing your favorite novelist's work, you might interpolate a few examples of her writing into your description. If you constantly interpolate your own snide comments into your sister's play-by-play account of an important basketball game, don't be surprised if she asks you to knock it off. In math, to interpolate means to estimate the value of something given certain data. If you’re looking at a chart that gives the level of pollutants in a lake on January 1st and February 1st, you must interpolate the level for January 15th.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

interpolate interpolates interpolated interpolating

To get around that issue, the BEA said that it will average September and November numbers to interpolate the October missing data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026

“Defendants did not seek or receive permission to copy or interpolate any portion of ‘When I Was Your Man’ into ‘Flowers,’” the lawsuit adds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024

A NeRF encodes the geometry of a scene into the weights of a neural network, which gives the model a strong ability to interpolate, or estimate, novel views of a scene.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2024

As Swain explained, “we don’t have thermometers covering every square inch of the Earth,” so scientific groups use computer models to interpolate between data points, generating what is called a reanalysis.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 11, 2023

We must here be allowed space to interpolate a word of the briefest possible comment on the practical side of Blake’s character.

From William Blake A Critical Essay by Algernon Charles Swinburne

Entitled Alter Ego, it includes singles Moonlit Floor, which interpolates Sixpence None the Richer's classic track Kiss Me, as well as New Woman featuring Spanish star Rosalía, and hip hop track Rockstar.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2025

He says that when he dropped the fiery “Dientes” in September, the ’00s club-inspired Latino urbano track which interpolates Usher’s “Yeah!,” his fans were expecting reggaeton — his “original sound,” as he puts it.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2023

“At the time, I was loving Wu-Tang, that Ol’ Dirty Bastard song,” said Keys, referring “Brooklyn Zoo” by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, which she interpolates on “Girlfriend.”

From Washington Times ● Mar. 30, 2020

On “King’s Dead,” Future freaks it and interpolates Three Six Mafia at the same time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2018

Furthermore, we ask attention to the fact that the ordinary interpreter, hard pressed by his unscriptural creed, interpolates a disjunctive conjunction in the opposing teeth of Paul's plain statement.

From The Destiny of the Soul A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life by William Rounseville Alger

Additional Vivaldi arias and ensembles are deftly interpolated among the scrambled “Seasons” movements, their words a combination of Ms. Ruhl’s new English texts and the original Italian and Latin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

Last year the Yeah Yeah Yeahs interpolated a bit of “Beggin’” for a cut from their latest album.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

It was “Rapper’s Delight,” which interpolated Chic’s hit “Good Times.”

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2023

The track has also been interpolated several times - Danish dance artist Calvin attracted more than 23 million Spotify streams to his 2016 re-imagining of the song, titled Give U Up.

From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2023

He continually thought of new things to be tried, and interrupted the course of the work with interpolated experiments which often robbed the preceding sequence of operations of their final result.

From Lord Kelvin An account of his scientific life and work by Andrew Gray

Set to a throbbing synth bassline, the song teases fans by interpolating a line from her 1980s classic Into The Groove: "Out here on the dance floor, I feel so free."

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

“Old Dog” is a tribute to Mr. Cole’s home state, featuring rapper Petey Pablo interpolating his 2001 North Carolina anthem “Raise Up.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

Online, he has a reputation for interpolating corporate PR with nerdy puns and — in his words — “dank” memes.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2023

It was the perfect recipe for virality: one part cute kid plus one part delicious food, with a healthy sprinkling of catchy sound bites, perfect for interpolating.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 25, 2022

The press was seized in August, 1573, and the type handed to Henry Bynneman, who, the next year, used it to reprint Cartwright’s attack, interpolating Whitgift’s replies in larger type.

From Fine Books by Alfred W. (Alfred William) Pollard