Word.ws English Dictionary

calculate

Syllables: cal·cu·late/ˈkælkjʊleɪt/

calculate verb: to determine the value of something or the solution to something by a mathematical process.

calculate: to determine the value of something or the solution to something by a mathematical process
Image: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

calculate (third-person singular simple present calculates, present participle calculating, simple past and past participle calculated)

  1. (transitive) To determine the value of something or the solution to something by a mathematical process.
    • Calculate the square root of 3 to 10 decimal places.
    Synonyms:
    compute, reckon, work out
  2. (intransitive) To determine values or solutions by a mathematical process; reckon.
    Synonyms:
    compute, reckon
  3. (US, dialectal, intransitive) To plan; to expect; to think.
    • I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal’lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big...1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
  4. To ascertain or predict by mathematical or astrological computations the time, circumstances, or other conditions of; to forecast or compute the character or consequences of.
    • to calculate or cast one’s nativity
    • A cunning man did calculate my birth.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  5. To adjust for purpose; to adapt by forethought or calculation; to fit or prepare by the adaptation of means to an end.
    • to calculate a system of laws for the government and protection of a free people
    • [Religion] is […] calculated for our benefit.1671, John Tillotson, “Sermon IV. The Advantages of Religion to Particular Persons. Psalm XIX. 11.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […]...
  6. To imagine sequences of potential moves and responses without actually moving the pieces.

calculate meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

calculate in Hindi

(transitive) to determine the value or solution of sth.
गणना करना gaṇnā karnā, हिसाब रखना hisāb rakhnā, हिसाब करना hisāb karnā, हिसाब लगाना hisāb lagānā

calculate in Tamil

ஆய்ந்து திட்டமிடு, கணக்கிடு, கணி, மதிப்பிடு, கணிக்க, கணித்தல்

calculate in Urdu

(transitive) to determine the value or solution of sth.
شمار کرنا śumār karnā, حساب لگانا hisāb lagānā

calculate in Bengali

কষা, গণনা করা, নিরূপণ করা, গনা, অঙ্ক কষা, হিসাব করা
More languagesFewer languages
calculate in Telugu
గణించు gaṇiñcu
calculate in Malayalam
ഗണനം gaṇanaṁ, അളക്കുക aḷakkuka
calculate in Kannada
ಲೆಕ್ಕಹಾಕು, ಎಣಿಸು, ಎಣ್, ಎಣ್ಣು
calculate in Assamese
হিচাপ কৰা hisap kora, উলিয়া ulia
calculate in Pashto
محاسبه کول mahāsebakawᶕl
calculate in Tagalog
tayahin, magtaya
calculate in Arabic
حَسَبَ ḥasaba
calculate in Malay
mengira
calculate in Persian
محاسبه کردن mohâsebe kardan, حساب کردن hesâb kardan, انگاردن angārdan, اشماردن ošmārdan
calculate in Thai
คำนวณ kam-nuuan
calculate in Vietnamese
tính toán, tính
calculate in Myanmar
တွက် twak, ခန့်တွက် hkan.twak

Examples of calculate in a sentence

  • The software bug led the computer to calculate 2 plus 2 as 3.
  • By Pythagoras' theorem, we can calculate the length of the hypotenuse.
  • The software program has a table of values for some results, but calculates others on the fly.

All 40 example sentences with calculate

Synonyms of calculate

All synonyms of calculate

Forms of calculate

third-person singular presentcalculates
present participlecalculating
past participlecalculated
pastcalculated
second-person singular present (archaic)calculatest
second-person singular past (archaic)calculatedst
third-person singular present (archaic)calculateth

Past tense of calculate: calculated

Origin of calculate

Borrowed from Latin calculātus, perfect passive participle of calculō (“to reckon, compute, calculate”, originally by means of pebbles) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from calculus (“a pebble”), further from calx (“limestone”, calc- in compounds) + -ulus (forms diminutives).

Words formed from calculate

Questions about calculate

What does calculate mean?
Calculate means to determine the value of something or the solution to something by a mathematical process.
What is calculate in Hindi?
Calculate in Hindi is गणना करना (gaṇnā karnā), हिसाब रखना (hisāb rakhnā), हिसाब करना (hisāb karnā). See Calculate meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is calculate?
Calculate is a verb.
How do you pronounce calculate?
Calculate is pronounced /ˈkælkjʊleɪt/.
What is the past tense of calculate?
The past tense of calculate is calculated.

Words near calculate in the dictionary

  1. calculandum
  2. calculant
  3. calcular
  4. calculary
  5. calculatable
  6. calculate
  7. calculate out
  8. calculated
  9. calculated mistake
  10. calculated mistakes
  11. calculated out

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: calculate (page history and authors); calculate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); calculate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); గణించు (Telugu) (page history and authors); അളക്കുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); calculate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); উলিয়া (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-calculate.ogg.

Cite this entry: “calculate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/calculate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.