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:
Kalshi is asking regulators for permission to let users speculate on the price of gold, silver and platinum with a new kind of derivative contract that never expires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 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
We only care enough to speculate — to raise our voices without ever digging into the meat of the issue.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
She can only speculate on how her father would feel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
It was understandable that Wagner might want to speculate about the art world of the future, one that would encompass within it all the arts, centred on human dramas of love, death and destiny.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Ms. Allen speculates that the document was “likely” given to Richmond by Paine after he returned to England in 1787.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
News coverage speculates about a "new tone" from the president.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
She speculates that the U.S. and other major powers could argue that keeping weapons on the moon is “perfectly reasonable and legal within their rights under the treaty.”
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
But he says more than 100 writers have reached out to say they want to be part of the case since it was filed, and speculates that the total number could be in the thousands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Sleight speculates that Ruess inscribed this Nemo not long after departing Davis Gulch.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
The process will involve a hearing at which leave to appeal would either be granted or denied - it is speculated this could happen sometime in September.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Many of my emails with Epstein have been taken out of context or do not mean what some have speculated or suggested,” according to a copy of Ruemmler’s prepared remarks before the House Oversight Committee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
"I don't think we know for sure," French envoy Duchene speculated about the origins of the artwork.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Julie speculated about what food they’d be given.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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
Wall Street analysts immediately began speculating that Netflix, which showed a desire to get bigger with its failed effort to acquire much of Warner Bros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Local cable TV networks had been speculating about the weather for the past two days and how it would affect this game.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
The boat assignment seemed tangible and undeniable evidence that what the sophomores had been speculating about was true—something was special about them, and Ulbrickson had unusual confidence in them as a unit.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
