extrapolation

[ ik-strap-uh-ley-shuhn ]
See synonyms for extrapolation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act or instance of inferring an unknown from something that is known.

  2. Statistics, Mathematics. the act or process of estimating the value of a variable or function outside the tabulated or observed range.

Origin of extrapolation

1
First recorded in 1870–75; extrapolat(e) + -(t)ion

Words Nearby extrapolation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use extrapolation in a sentence

  • You claim that you actually guessed where that ship was going to be, but you followed the computer's extrapolation instead?

    But, I Don't Think | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • The last three values are those obtained by extrapolation with platinum-rhodium and platinum-iridium couples.

  • In controversion of this it must be said that the ulterior justification of such ideal extrapolation is not yet feasible.

    Natural Philosophy | Wilhelm Ostwald
  • Even the most favorable extrapolation showed it would take him nineteen years to become master of the world.

    Teething Ring | James Causey
  • I thought my subconscious was just building up this stuff to fill the gaps in what I'd produced from logical extrapolation.

    The Edge of the Knife | Henry Beam Piper

Cultural definitions for extrapolation

extrapolation

[ (ik-strap-uh-lay-shuhn) ]


A mathematical procedure designed to enable one to estimate unknown values of a parameter from known values. A common method of extrapolation is to look at data on a curve, then extend the curve into regions for which there is no data. Extrapolation is often used to predict the future.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.