Meaning of working hypothesis | Babel Free

Definitions

A hypothesis that is weakly held, tentatively, as a best guess; such a hypothesis among several plausible ones that is driving or underpinning a scientific team's work at a given time.

Equivalents

Examples

“Among these several hypotheses, the one judged as most likely was our working hypothesis during the autumn semester.”

“We do not know that this is the case, but it is an hypothesis which cannot be refuted and is simpler than any other possible hypothesis. I shall therefore adopt it as a working hypothesis in what follows.”

“By a process of elimination of the various possibilities we have set up a working hypothesis that the rock-cut installation was for the purpose of making and storing wine.”

“Astronomers at one time considered the possibility that all stars had the same luminosity as the sun and tried to derive the distances of stars from how bright they appeared to be. This working hypothesis, although a good idea at the time, led to a number of inconsistencies.”

“Brand thinks it is a "plausible working hypothesis" that properties are legitimate objects, as good as "specifiable groupings of particulars" - which presumably sets or classes are.”

CEFR level