extrapolate

[ ik-strap-uh-leyt ]

verb (used with object)

, ex·trap·o·lat·ed, ex·trap·o·lat·ing.

1. to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.
2. Statistics. to estimate (the value of a variable) outside the tabulated or observed range.
3. Mathematics. to estimate (a function that is known over a range of values of its independent variable) to values outside the known range.

verb (used without object)

, ex·trap·o·lat·ed, ex·trap·o·lat·ing.

1. to perform extrapolation.

extrapolate

/ ɪkˈstræpəˌleɪt /

verb

1. maths to estimate (a value of a function or measurement) beyond the values already known, by the extension of a curve Compare interpolate
2. to infer (something not known) by using but not strictly deducing from the known facts

extrapolate

/ ĭk-străp′ə-lāt′ /

1. To estimate the value of a quantity that falls outside the range in which its values are known.

Derived Forms

• exˈtrapoˌlator, noun
• exˈtrapolative, adjective
• exˌtrapoˈlation, noun

Other Words From

• ex·trapo·lation noun
• ex·trapo·lative ex·trap·o·la·to·ry [ik-, strap, -, uh, -l, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], adjective
• ex·trapo·lator noun
• over·ex·trapo·lation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of extrapolate¹

First recorded in 1825–35; extra- + (inter)polate

Word History and Origins

Origin of extrapolate¹

C19: extra- + -polate, as in interpolate

Example Sentences

Goldstein was given free rein to extrapolate material from Joan’s books, documentaries, stand-up sets and joke catalogs, even if it was never performed.

From Los Angeles Times

One can take that episode and extrapolate it to the series.

From Salon

“More than a few have questioned the authenticity of Vance’s perspective on Appalachia, his convenient downplaying of race and racism as cultural forces, and his willingness to extrapolate rather too broadly from his family’s own fraught dynamics.”

From Los Angeles Times

"But since our model is a surrogate of a physics code, and the principles of physics apply equally everywhere, it's easier to extrapolate our work to other contexts."

From Science Daily

Although there is little direct research on whether pasteurization inactivates H5N1 in milk, we can extrapolate from what we know about heat inactivation of H5N1 in chicken and eggs.

From Salon

Related Words

• deduce
• hypothesize