Spec·u·late v. i. [imp. & p. p. Speculated p. pr. & vb. n. Speculating.]
 1. To consider by turning a subject in the mind, and viewing it in its different aspects and relations; to meditate; to contemplate; to theorize; as, to speculate on questions in religion; to speculate on political events.
    It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most pefect quietude to the external regulations of society.   --Hawthorne.
 2. Philos. To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori.
 3. Com. To purchase with the expectation of a contingent advance in value, and a consequent sale at a profit; -- often, in a somewhat depreciative sense, of unsound or hazardous transactions; as, to speculate in coffee, in sugar, or in bank stock.