guess definition | Dictionary.com

guess

[ges]

–verb (used with object)

1.	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.

Antonyms:
3. know.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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guess (gěs)

v. guessed, guess·ing, guess·es

v. tr.

1. To predict (a result or an event) without sufficient information.
2. To assume, presume, or assert (a fact) without sufficient information.
To form a correct estimate or conjecture of: guessed the answer.
To suppose; think: I guess he was wrong.

v. intr.

To make an estimate or conjecture: We could only guess at her motives.
To estimate or conjecture correctly.

An act or instance of guessing.
A conjecture arrived at by guessing.

[Middle English gessen, probably of Scandinavian origin; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.]
guess'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Guess

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.

Guess

Guess\, v. i. To make a guess or random judgment; to conjecture; -- with at, about, etc.

This is the place, as well as I may guess. --Milton.

Guess

Guess\, n. An opinion as to anything, formed without sufficient or decisive evidence or grounds; an attempt to hit upon the truth by a random judgment; a conjecture; a surmise.

A poet must confess His art 's like physic -- but a happy guess. --Dryden.

Language Translation for : guess

Spanish: adivinar,

German: (er)raten,

Japanese: 推測する

More Translations »

guess (v.)

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.

guess

see anyone's guess; educated guess; have another guess coming; your guess is as good as mine.

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