Speculation is when you make an educated guess about something that might happen or what's going on. It can also mean buying and selling things, like stocks, with the hope of making money later.
When people speculate about something, they're usually trying to figure out what will happen next in a situation. This could be anything from how well a new movie is doing at the box office to whether a certain company's stock price will go up or down. Sometimes speculation can get ahead of itself and become wild guesses, like predicting that a popular new book will sell millions of copies on its first day out. But in other cases, speculation can be a useful tool for making informed decisions. For example, investors might speculate about the future of a certain industry to decide whether it's worth investing in. The key is to stay grounded and not get carried away with guesses that aren't based on much evidence.
How common is "speculation"?
Word speculation is considered uncommon in modern English. It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
Definitions
noun
The process of thinking or meditating on a subject.
The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.
A conclusion to which the mind comes by speculating; mere theory; notion; conjecture.
An investment involving higher-than-normal risk in order to obtain a higher-than-normal return.
The act or practice of buying land, goods, shares, etc., in expectation of selling at a higher price, or of selling with the expectation of repurchasing at a lower price; a trading on anticipated fluctuations in price, as distinguished from trading in which the profit expected is the difference between the retail and wholesale prices, or the difference of price in different markets.
Examination by the eye; view.
Power of sight.
A card game in which the players buy from one another trumps or whole hands, upon a chance of getting the highest trump dealt, which entitles the holder to the pool of stakes.
The process of anticipating which branch of code will be chosen and executing it in advance.