FORECAST

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does forecast mean? 

• FORECAST (noun)
  The noun FORECAST has 1 sense:

1. a prediction about how something (as the weather) will develop

  Familiarity information: FORECAST used as a noun is very rare.

• FORECAST (verb)
  The verb FORECAST has 3 senses:

1. predict in advance

2. judge to be probable

3. indicate, as with a sign or an omen

  Familiarity information: FORECAST used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FORECAST (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A prediction about how something (as the weather) will develop

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

forecast; prognosis

Hypernyms ("forecast" is a kind of...):

forecasting; foretelling; prediction; prognostication (a statement made about the future)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "forecast"):

financial forecast (a forecast of the expected financial position and the results of operations and cash flows based on expected conditions)

weather forecast; weather outlook (a forecast of the weather)

Derivation:

forecast (judge to be probable)

forecast (indicate, as with a sign or an omen)

forecast (predict in advance)

• FORECAST (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they forecast    ... he / she / it forecasts   
Past simple: forecasted   
Past participle: forecasted   
-ing form: forecasting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Predict in advance

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

calculate; forecast

Hypernyms (to "forecast" is one way to...):

anticipate; call; forebode; foretell; predict; prognosticate; promise (make a prediction about; tell in advance)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

forecast (a prediction about how something (as the weather) will develop)

forecaster (someone who makes predictions of the future (usually on the basis of special knowledge))

forecasting (a statement made about the future)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Judge to be probable

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

calculate; count on; estimate; figure; forecast; reckon

Hypernyms (to "forecast" is one way to...):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "forecast"):

allow; take into account (allow or plan for a certain possibility; concede the truth or validity of something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

forecast (a prediction about how something (as the weather) will develop)

forecaster (someone who makes predictions of the future (usually on the basis of special knowledge))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Indicate, as with a sign or an omen

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

augur; auspicate; betoken; bode; forecast; foreshadow; foretell; omen; portend; predict; prefigure; presage; prognosticate

Context example:

These signs bode bad news

Hypernyms (to "forecast" is one way to...):

bespeak; betoken; indicate; point; signal (be a signal for or a symptom of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "forecast"):

threaten (to be a menacing indication of something)

foreshow (foretell by divine inspiration)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

forecast (a prediction about how something (as the weather) will develop)

 Context examples 

GOES-R data will help improve hurricane tracking and intensity forecasts, the prediction and warnings of severe weather, including tornadoes and thunderstorms.

(GOES-R heads to orbit, will improve weather forecasting, NOAA)

The study used data from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) to forecast ocean acidification under several CO2 emission assumption scenarios, looking at changes in calcium carbonate saturation.

(Marine organisms in Southern Ocean will face shallower zone for life, National Science Foundation)

The scientists suggest this effect should be taken into account when gas measurements are being used to forecast major changes in volcanic activity.

(Size matters: if you are a bubble of volcanic gas, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Harmful algae blooms are difficult to forecast, scientists have found.

(Scientists discover genetic basis for how harmful algae blooms become toxic, National Science Foundation)

Remarkably, the new results are close to forecasts made from Planck measurements of the distant past, allowing scientists to understand more about how the universe has evolved over approximately 14 billion years.

(New Clues to Universe's Structure Revealed, NASA)

A unit of percentage measurement for quantitative evaluation of a forecasted or presumed value against the actual observation value.

(Percent of Predicted Value, NCI Thesaurus)

A forecast of the probable course and outcome of a cancer.

(Cancer Prognosis, NCI Thesaurus)

But most hail forecasting methods just look at a small slice of the storm and can't distinguish the broader form and structure.

(Facial recognition technique could improve hail forecasts, National Science Foundation)

"European, US, Australian, Japanese, etc. shows a forecast skill for predicting some of these events at a two-week timescale. However, there is a huge scope for improvement," McPhaden adds.

(Global disasters linked to warming Indo-Pacific seas, SciDev.Net)

Imagine a place where the weather forecast is always the same: scorching temperatures, relentlessly sunny, and with absolutely zero chance of rain.

(Water Is Destroyed, Then Reborn in Ultrahot Jupiters, NASA/JPL)