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
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.
Experts also speculate that the darker blue color may be helping the Reflecting Pool absorb more heat.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2026
In recent years, Tesla has dominated the U.S. options market’s trading volumes as investors—generally retail ones—have clamored to speculate on Tesla’s stock surging ever higher.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
On top of that, employer-review sites generally showed the biggest negative effects on weekends, leading the researchers to speculate that people thinking about work on the weekend would be grouchy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Many speculate that in recent years he has become more paranoid, especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
With rising fear, Nailer realized that it was one thing to speculate idly about jumping a train, another to watch freight cars hurtle past.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
