calculate
Syllables: cal·cu·late/ˈkælkjʊleɪt/
calculate verb: to determine the value of something or the solution to something by a mathematical process.

Verb
calculate (third-person singular simple present calculates, present participle calculating, simple past and past participle calculated)
- 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.
- To determine values or solutions by a mathematical process; reckon.
- 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
- 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...
- 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: […]...
- 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.
Synonyms of calculate
Forms of calculate
| third-person singular present | calculates |
|---|---|
| present participle | calculating |
| past participle | calculated |
| past | calculated |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | calculatest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | calculatedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | calculateth |
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
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.
Last updated:
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.
