speculate
Americanverb (used without object)
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speculates,
present (3rd person singular)
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speculated,
past participle, past
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speculating
present participle
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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
-
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:
If one had to speculate, using very unscientific methods, it would seem that a huge amount of programming for adults is based on 19th-century French novels, Jane Austen and Dame Agatha.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
So, in short, while one can speculate about car and circuit characteristics all one wants, no one will actually know until qualifying on Saturday.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
I can certainly speculate: Some people want a simple story of good and evil.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
Some investors like to speculate about potential additions, presuming that stocks tabbed to join the index will get short-term boosts, as funds tracking the S&P 500 will be forced to take positions.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
“There is no doubt that the area has received a great deal of damage and there will be more to come. I don’t want to speculate any further.”
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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
Perhaps, Mero speculates, someone will change the lock combination, knocking her out of her own creation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
"It's possible this could explain the higher prevalence of autoimmune diseases in women," Cao speculates.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 28, 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
Wall Street analysts have speculated that rival diagnostic companies such as Natera or Guardant Health could be among the interested parties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Spencer speculated that maybe their "friendship has not survived this case" and said "I have little doubt that it will haunt you for the rest of your days".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
This is far less than the hundreds of billions being speculated ahead of the trial.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Some speculated his success came from useful close relationships, including with the brother of former premier Wen Jiabao.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The article speculated that the stewards’ “secret investigation” may have revealed “the identity of the race figure who gave Woolf his orders,” but that the officials were not telling the public.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Putin's meeting with Pezeshkian comes days after the CIA's director John Ratcliffe made a rare trip to Moscow, with US media speculating he could have discussed Ukraine and Iran with his Russian counterparts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
Richard Wilcock, Rail Magazine industry editor, said it was hard to know the cause without speculating, but photographs appeared to show "clearly a buckled track".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
One is speculating in public about a woman’s health.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
“I find that question pretty offensive, frankly, when people start speculating about my death and my health,” he told a Swiss newspaper at the time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
It was not long before the sisters made a fortune speculating in the gold market.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
