# extrapolation

/ɛkˌstɹæpəˈɫeɪʃən/ (US) · /ɛkstɹˈæpəlˈeɪʃən/ (UK) · CEFR B2 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/extrapolation
Updated: 2026-09-28

## Definition

guessing or estimating an outcome that lies outside the range of what you have already observed.

For teachers: the mathematical projection or inference of values lying outside the observed range or support of training data based on existing trends.

## Examples

- Predicting sales ten years into the future based on last month's numbers is risky extrapolation.
- Language models excel at in-distribution interpolation but often stumble during length extrapolation on complex math problems.
- Positional encodings such as RoPE and ALiBi are explicitly engineered to facilitate length extrapolation beyond the pre-training context window.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.