guess
Use Guess in a sentence
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 followed by at or about ): We guessed at the weight of the package.
5.
to estimate or conjecture correctly.
00:10
Guess
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
noun
Idioms 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.
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.) Middle English gessen, perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Danish, Norwegian gissa, Middle Low German gissen, Middle Dutch gessen, Old Norse geta; (noun) Middle English gesse, derivative of the v. See get
1300–50; (v.) Middle English gessen, perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Danish, Norwegian gissa, Middle Low German gissen, Middle Dutch gessen, Old Norse geta; (noun) Middle English gesse, derivative of the v. See get
Related forms
guess·a·ble, adjective
guess·er, noun
guess·ing·ly, adverb
pre·guess, noun, verb
un·guess·a·ble, adjective
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.
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.
3. know.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To guess
Collins
World English Dictionary
guess (ɡɛs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 1. | to form or express an uncertain estimate or conclusion (about something), based on insufficient information: guess what we're having for dinner |
| 2. | to arrive at a correct estimate of (something) by guessing: he guessed my age |
| 3. | informal chiefly (US), (Canadian) to believe, think, or suppose (something): I guess I'll go now |
| 4. | keep a person guessing to let a person remain in a state of uncertainty |
| —n | |
| 5. | an estimate or conclusion arrived at by guessing: a bad guess |
| 6. | the act of guessing |
| 7. | anyone's guess something difficult to predict |
| [C13: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Swedish gissa, Old Danish gitse, Middle Dutch gissen; see | |
| 'guessable | |
| —adj | |
| 'guesser | |
| —n | |
| 'guessingly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
guess
c.1300, 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
guess
see anyone's guess; educated guess; have another guess coming; your guess is as good as mine.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
In fact, it is almost impossible for an outsider to second-guess its utterances.
Without references you can only send it to a chemist and have them give their best guess.
Ask them to guess how far this little bird can fly at one time.
It's time again for our weekly contest: guess the location of the photograph.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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