# predict

Pronunciation: US say "pri-DIKT" /pɹɪˈdɪkt/; UK

## Verb

1. To forecast or estimate a future event using knowledge and reasoning, or to foretell one through claimed mystical power.
   - Simple: To say what will happen before it happens, using what you know.
   - _Economists predict a slowdown in growth next year._
   - _The oracle predicted the fall of the kingdom._
2. To make predictions; to state what one expects will happen.
   - Simple: To say what you think will happen in the future.
   - _Skilled analysts predict with surprising accuracy._
   - _He predicted confidently, though he gave no specifics._
3. Of a theory, law, or similar principle, to imply a particular result or fact as one of its consequences.
   - Simple: Of a theory or rule, to mean that a certain result must follow from it.
   - _Einstein's equations predict that light bends as it passes close to a massive star._
   - _If the model is right, it predicts that prices must fall when supply doubles._

## Verb

4. To aim a ranged weapon at a target with the help of a predictor. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To aim a long-range gun at a target using a special aiming machine.
   - _Anti-aircraft crews predicted the incoming bombers using mechanical predictors._
   - _The battery could predict a low, fast raider only when the range-finder kept the predictor supplied with readings._

## Noun

5. A foretelling of a future event; a prediction. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A statement about what will happen in the future.
   - _The seer's predict proved accurate, much to the court's alarm._
   - _Few believed the prophet's gloomy predict until the famine came._

## Origin

Recorded from the early 17th century, from Latin praedīcō "to mention beforehand" (past participle praedictus), formed from prae- "before" plus dīcō "to say."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/predict (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).