extrapolate

verb

ex·​trap·​o·​late ik-ˈstra-pə-ˌlāt 

extrapolated; extrapolating

transitive verb

1

a

: to predict by projecting past experience or known data

extrapolate public sentiment on one issue from known public reaction on others

b

: to project, extend, or expand (known data or experience) into an area not known or experienced so as to arrive at a usually conjectural knowledge of the unknown area

extrapolates present trends to construct an image of the future

2

: to infer (values of a variable in an unobserved interval) from values within an already observed interval

intransitive verb

: to perform the act or process of extrapolating

extrapolation

ik-ˌstra-pə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

extrapolative

ik-ˈstra-pə-ˌlā-tiv 

adjective

extrapolator

ik-ˈstra-pə-ˌlā-tər 

noun

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The Many Uses of Extrapolate

Scientists worry about the greenhouse effect because they have extrapolated the rate of carbon-dioxide buildup and predicted that its effect on the atmosphere will become increasingly severe. On the basis of their extrapolations, they have urged governments and businesses to limit factory and automobile emissions. Notice that it's acceptable to speak of extrapolating existing data (to produce new data), extrapolating from existing data (to produce new data), or extrapolating new data (from existing data)—in other words, it isn't easy to use this word wrong.

Synonyms

• conclude
• decide
• deduce
• derive
• gather
• infer
• judge
• make out
• reason
• understand

Examples of extrapolate in a Sentence

We can extrapolate the number of new students entering next year by looking at how many entered in previous years.

With such a small study it is impossible to extrapolate accurately.

Recent Examples on the Web

Resonate's process is unlike typical polling that extrapolates the pulse of American voters from a few hundred or thousand responses. —Jim Sergent, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

This has left digital media and child development experts to extrapolate and hypothesize about the possible pitfalls and benefits. —Emily Tate Sullivan, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2024

Jayne and their team also realized additional implications after studying and extrapolating the scalability ratio between their mouth gapes and cranial structures. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 24 Oct. 2024

Product managers must understand the innovation, and extrapolate with engineering where the technology will be in a few years. —Aparna Sinha, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin extra outside + English -polate (as in interpolate) — more at extra-

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Kids Definition

extrapolate

verb

ex·​trap·​o·​late ik-ˈstrap-ə-ˌlāt 

extrapolated; extrapolating

: to work out unknown facts from known facts

extrapolation

-ˌstrap-ə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

extrapolator

-ˈstrap-ə-ˌlāt-ər 

noun