speculate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to engage in thought or reflection; meditate (often followed by on, upon, or a clause).
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to indulge in conjectural thought.
- Synonyms:
- theorize, suppose, surmise, guess, conjecture
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to engage in any business transaction involving considerable risk or the chance of large gains, especially to buy and sell commodities, stocks, etc., in the expectation of a quick or very large profit.
verb
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(when tr, takes a clause as object) to conjecture without knowing the complete facts
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(intr) to buy or sell securities, property, etc, in the hope of deriving capital gains
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(intr) to risk loss for the possibility of considerable gain
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(intr) rugby to make an emergency forward kick of the ball without taking any particular aim
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overspeculateverb (used without object)
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prespeculateverb (used without object)
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unspeculatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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speculatesimple
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speculatessimple
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have speculatedperfect
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has speculatedperfect
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am speculatingprogressive
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are speculatingprogressive
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is speculatingprogressive
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have been speculatingperfect progressive
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has been speculatingperfect progressive
Past
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speculatedsimple
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had speculatedperfect
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was speculatingprogressive
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were speculatingprogressive
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had been speculatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of speculate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin speculātus “watched over,” past participle of speculārī “to watch over, explore, reconnoiter,” verb derivative of specula “watchtower,” noun derivative of specere “to look, regard, see”
Explanation
When you speculate, you use what you know to make a prediction about an outcome, like when you speculate that the injury of two key players will prevent your favorite team from going far in the playoffs this year. The verb speculate has a specialized meaning in the world of finance — it means to take a financial risk in the hopes of monetary gain. For example, a business owner may speculate that a brand-new kind of frozen yogurt will be really popular, so she buys a huge order of it for her ice cream store. Someone who speculates goes looking for the next big thing, as seen in the word's Latin origin, speculatus, meaning "to spy out, examine."
Vocabulary lists containing speculate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Common Senses: Spec, Spect, Spic ("Look")
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The Secret Life of Bees
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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.
See Examples For:
“I hate to speculate because boats, they can sink in a moment’s notice,” Smith said, noting that he had “all kinds of weird stuff” happen in his 35 years at sea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
They also warned juries "should not be invited to speculate on what other evidence there might be".
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
If memory costs remain elevated, Apple may be forced to raise prices again in fiscal 2028, Woodring added, although he flagged that it’s difficult to speculate about future pricing strategy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
But it’s much better to allocate than speculate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
One can only speculate on what thought and feelings went streaking through the conscience of James Madison after the fleeting moment passed.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
News coverage speculates about a "new tone" from the president.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
A raid to seize the enriched uranium, in what Kavanagh speculates is an attempt to “embarrass” Iran into submission, would face a slew of problems.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2026
Cardillo speculates that the conflict won’t last long, limiting the downside in silver and gold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
Perhaps, Mero speculates, someone will change the lock combination, knocking her out of her own creation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
Berkner speculates that this is what happened to the great reptiles; their size may have been all right for a richly oxygenated atmosphere, but they had the bad luck to run out of air.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Investors and analysts have speculated that Musk could try to merge SpaceX and Tesla into a single AI-focused company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Some speculated that the letters were due to an internal technical error at the DMV or related to the department’s use of AI.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Earlier this month, investors speculated that Meta would be scaling back its AI spending on reports of the company developing a new business line to sell its compute to third parties.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Addressing his wildly speculated about absence, McConnell said: "Folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older".
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
At the very least, we speculated excitedly, there would be vending machines and rest rooms, where we could wash and get fresh water, look in a mirror—briefly be groomed and civilized.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Intrigued by the vague mixture of menace and nostalgia that the image evoked, internet users began sharing stories and speculating that the Backrooms is a hidden dimension into which people might accidentally find themselves.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
"At this time, we have very limited information and ask that everyone respect the privacy of Kaylee's family and refrain from sharing or speculating about the circumstances surrounding the accident."
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
It is a surprise appointment for the MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, with many speculating the role would go to Ed Miliband or Shabana Mahmood.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Analysts have been speculating for months about the impact that rising memory costs would have on Apple’s product prices and margins.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
This is so new a field of study that as yet scientists have been more concerned with identifying the chromosome abnormalities associated with disease and defective development than with speculating about the causes.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
