speculator

noun

spec·​u·​la·​tor ˈspe-kyə-ˌlā-tər 

plural speculators

: someone who speculates: such as

a

: a person who thinks or guesses especially in an idle or casual way about something that is unknown or uncertain

I sat Friday night in the dining room in front of my laptop, the TV in the next room flitting among experts and speculators about what happened in Paris …

—Scott Martelle

"… All that we ought to ask, therefore, is, that the witnesses of our conduct, and the speculators on our motives, should be capable of taking the highest view which the circumstances of the case may admit. …"

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

b

: a person who makes a relatively risky investment in something (such as stocks or real estate) in the hope of making a large short-term profit from market fluctuations

futures/currency speculators

By the late 1870s Edward Pray was living in New York City, still interested in mining but instead now as a speculator in mining stocks.

—Willa Kane

Over the years, many houses have been bought by speculators or real estate companies and rented out.

—Margaret Gillerman

Examples of speculator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The waterway would make Chicago the epicenter of trade in the Midwest, and speculators bought up parcels then resold them for enormous profit. —Andrew Johnston, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2024

Because of its rich architectural legacy and affordability, Newburgh attracted deal-seeking historic preservationists and property speculators in the late 20th century. —Richard E. Ocejo, TIME, 2 July 2024

Newspaper advertisements and the opening of the Bay Bridge linking Maryland’s western and eastern shores in 1952 helped drum up interest, including from speculators. Coveted even more so by landowners and investors was a bridge to the island itself, which otherwise was served by a small car ferry. —Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 7 Mar. 2024

Officials apparently feared that acknowledging any production shortfalls would induce speculators to increase their stores of grain in the expectation of rising prices. —Douglas Gollin, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2016

Word History

Etymology

speculate + -or entry 1; in earlier sense "observer, lookout," borrowed from Latin speculātor "scout, spy, sentinel," from speculārī "to keep a close watch on, spy out, watch for" + -tor, agent suffix — more at speculate

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined above