to arrive at or commit oneself to an opinion about (something) without having sufficient evidence to support the opinion fully: to guess a person's weight.
2.
to estimate or conjecture about correctly: to guess what a word means.
3.
to think, believe, or suppose: I guess I can get there in time.
–verb (used without object)
4.
to form an estimate or conjecture (often fol. by at or about): We guessed at the weight of the package.
5.
to estimate or conjecture correctly.
–noun
6.
an opinion that one reaches or to which one commits oneself on the basis of probability alone or in the absence of any evidence whatever.
7.
the act of forming such an opinion: to take a guess at someone's weight.
—Idiom
8.
by guess and by gosh, Northern U.S.using a combination of guesswork and reliance on luck; hit or miss. Also, by guess and by golly.
[Origin: 1300–50; (v.) ME gessen, perh. < Scand; cf. Sw, Dan, Norw gissa, MLG gissen, MD gessen, ON geta; (n.) ME gesse, deriv. of the v. See get]
—Related forms
guess·a·ble, adjective
guesser, noun
guess·ing·ly, adverb
—Synonyms 1. hazard. 1, 2, 4.Guess,guess at,conjecture,surmise imply attempting to form an opinion as to the probable. To guess is to risk an opinion regarding something one does not know about, or, wholly or partly by chance, to arrive at the correct answer to a question: to guess the outcome of a game. Guess at implies more haphazard or random guessing: to guess at the solution of a crime. To conjecture is to make inferences in the absence of sufficient evidence to establish certainty: to conjecture the circumstances of the crime. Surmise implies making an intuitive conjecture that may or may not be correct: to surmise the motives that led to it. 3. fancy, imagine. 6. supposition.
c.1303, gessen "to estimate, appraise," originally "take aim," probably from Scand. (cf. Middle Danish gitse, getze "to guess," O.N. geta "guess, get"), possibly infl. by M.Du. gessen, M.L.G. gissen "to guess," all from P.Gmc. *getiskanan "to get" (see move). Sense evolution is from "to get," to "to take aim at," to "to estimate." U.S. sense of "calculate, recon" is true to the oldest Eng. meaning. Spelling with gu- is late 16c., sometimes attributed to Caxton and his early experience as a printer in Bruges. Guesswork is from 1725. Guesstimate is 1934, coined by statisticians, blending guess and estimate.
a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence
2.
an estimate based on little or no information
verb
1.
expect, believe, or suppose; "I imagine she earned a lot of money with her new novel"; "I thought to find her in a bad state"; "he didn't think to find her in the kitchen"; "I guess she is angry at me for standing her up" [syn: think]
2.
put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation; "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again"; "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong"
3.
judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time); "I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds" [syn: estimate]
4.
guess correctly; solve by guessing; "He guessed the right number of beans in the jar and won the prize"
Guess\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Guessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Guessing.] [OE. gessen; akin to Dan. gisse, Sw. gissa, Icel. gizha, D. gissen: cf. Dan. giette to guess, Icel. geta to get, to guess. Probably originally, to try to get, and akin to E. get. See Get.]1. To form an opinion concerning, without knowledge or means of knowledge; to judge of at random; to conjecture. First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess. --Pope. 2. To judge or form an opinion of, from reasons that seem preponderating, but are not decisive. We may then guess how far it was from his design. --Milton. Of ambushed men, whom, by their arms and dress, To be Taxallan enemies I guess. --Dryden. 3. To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly; as, he who guesses the riddle shall have the ring; he has guessed my designs. 4. To hit upon or reproduce by memory. [Obs.] Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them. --Shak. 5. To think; to suppose; to believe; to imagine; -- followed by an objective clause. Not all together; better far, I guess, That we do make our entrance several ways. --Shak. But in known images of life I guess The labor greater. --Pope. Syn: To conjecture; suppose; surmise; suspect; divine; think; imagine; fancy. Usage: To Guess, Think, Reckon. Guess denotes, to attempt to hit upon at random; as, to guess at a thing when blindfolded; to conjecture or form an opinion on hidden or very slight grounds: as, to guess a riddle; to guess out the meaning of an obscure passage. The use of the word guess for think or believe, although abundantly sanctioned by good English authors, is now regarded as antiquated and objectionable by discriminating writers. It may properly be branded as a colloguialism and vulgarism when used respecting a purpose or a thing about which there is no uncertainty; as, I guess I 'll go to bed.
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