Speculate Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)

Britannica Dictionary definition of SPECULATE

1

:

to think about something and make guesses about it

:

to form ideas or theories about something usually when there are many things not known about it

[no object]

• She could only speculate about/on her friend's motives.
• He speculated as to whether she would come.
• We don't know what happened—we can only speculate.

[+ object]

— + that

• Scientists speculate that the illness is caused by a virus.

2

[no object]

:

to invest money in ways that could produce a large profit but that also involve a lot of risk

• speculating on the stock market

— speculator

/ˈspɛkjəˌleɪtɚ/

noun,

plural

speculators

[count]

• a land speculator
• a Wall Street speculator