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YOUR VOCABULARY, ONE WORD AT A TIME

extrapolate

Verb

IPA /ɪkˈstræpəleɪt/

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Meaning in plain English

To estimate something beyond the available information by extending a pattern found in that information.

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Pronunciation

extrapolate/ɪkˈstræpəleɪt/

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  1. Several months of figures show a pattern

  2. The pattern is extended into the future

  3. The result is an estimate, not certainty

To extrapolate is to project beyond known information using an observed pattern.

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  1. From our first three months of bills, we extrapolated the likely annual cost.
  2. The researchers extrapolated future demand from recent sales figures.

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To estimate something beyond the available information by extending a pattern found in that information.
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extrapolate — To estimate something beyond the available information by extending a pattern found in that information.

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To estimate something beyond the available information by extending a pattern found in that information.

Compare: From our first three months of bills, we extrapolated the likely annual cost.

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Word origin

Formed from extra-, meaning outside, and a shortened form of interpolate.

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Extrapolate from names the evidence used as the starting point.

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extrapolate

/ɪkˈstræpəleɪt/ (Verb)

“Extrapolation is an estimate, not a guarantee. Use extrapolate from data or extrapolate a trend.”

englishskillstudio.com