speculate

American  

[spek-yuh-leyt] / ˈspɛk yəˌleɪt /

verb (used without object)

speculated, speculating

1. to engage in thought or reflection; meditate (often followed by on, upon, or a clause).

   Synonyms:

   cogitate, reflect, think

2. to indulge in conjectural thought.

   Synonyms:

   theorize, suppose, surmise, guess, conjecture

3. 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.

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speculate British  

/ ˈspɛkjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. (when tr, takes a clause as object) to conjecture without knowing the complete facts

2. (intr) to buy or sell securities, property, etc, in the hope of deriving capital gains

3. (intr) to risk loss for the possibility of considerable gain

4. (intr) rugby to make an emergency forward kick of the ball without taking any particular aim

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Other Word Forms

• overspeculate verb (used without object)
• prespeculate verb (used without object)
• unspeculating adjective

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."

Example Sentences

But fans have asked for more transparency after also spotting that Bannerman has removed all references to Katseye from her Instagram profile, leading some to speculate that she might have left the group permanently.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

The firm estimates the new order value is roughly $10 million and speculate that the customer is a top transceiver supplier like Cisco Systems, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Coherent, or Lumentum Holdings.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Some speculate that the rulings could open the door to an intense regulatory crackdown on social-media companies, similar to the historic tobacco settlements of the 1990s.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

The stock-market crash led investors to speculate whether poorly designed automatic trading or other market-structure minutiae were to blame for the abrupt selloff.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

“The witness is being asked to speculate as to her son’s state of mind and his emotional status. He’s—” “All right, all right,” said Alvin Hooks.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Related Words

• contemplate
• figure out
• guess
• hypothesize
• read
• reflect
• ruminate
• surmise
• weigh
• wonder