extrapolate
verb
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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.
Examples of extrapolate in a Sentence
Big Think, 1 Apr. 2026
The list is far too long to extrapolate on comprehensively in a single column, but consider this.
—Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
British writers’ disdainful accounts of the Rathayatra led, metonymically, to a pejorative sense of a juggernaut as a massive crushing vehicle, which was later extrapolated to its present meaning in English usage.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026
Consultants from both parties caution against extrapolating too much from special elections with limited turnout.
—ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extrapolate
Cite this Entry
“Extrapolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extrapolate. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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extrapolate
verb
