forecasts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of forecast.

   Economic forecasts from the central bank turned out to be too optimistic.

   The pilot reviewed the forecasts before clearing the flight for departure.

   Note

   Weather is only one home for the plural. Economic forecasts, sales forecasts and election forecasts all belong here, because the noun covers any estimate of a future condition. A narrower use belongs to betting, where forecast is another name for the exacta. At the betting window, forecasts are wagers rather than predictions, and the surrounding talk of stakes and odds shows which is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of forecast.

   The national service forecasts storms along the coast by the weekend.

   Each model forecasts a slightly different path for the hurricane.

   Note

   A singular subject takes this form in the present: the service forecasts rain, a darkening sky forecasts trouble. It carries both living meanings of the verb, estimating what will happen and foreshadowing it. The older meaning of plotting something beforehand is obsolete. The same spelling is also the plural noun. A determiner in front (the forecasts, two forecasts) marks the noun. A subject in front marks the verb.

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