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

The markets are often myopic and tend to extrapolate short-term trends for the long run. —Trefis Team, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024

Using those numbers to extrapolate across shows played since then, Swift likely sold around 11.02 million tickets in total. —Megan McCluskey, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024

But some experts caution against extrapolating too much from the data given several unknown variables and the uniqueness of the last presidential election. —Jared Gans, The Hill, 29 Oct. 2024

These technologies maximize insights from all the data gathered about a potential medicine by extrapolating the existing data to new scenarios and populations. —Patrick Smith, Forbes, 27 Nov. 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