Guess Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Usage

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms guess American [ges] / gɛs /

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.

   Synonyms: hazard

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.

   Synonyms: imagine, fancy Antonyms: know

verb (used without object)

1. to form an estimate or conjecture (often followed by at orabout ).

   We guessed at the weight of the package.

2. to estimate or conjecture correctly.

noun

1. 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.

   Synonyms: supposition

2. the act of forming such an opinion.

   to take a guess at someone's weight.

idioms

1. by guess and by gosh, using a combination of guesswork and reliance on luck; hit or miss. Also by guess and by golly.

guess British / ɡɛs /

verb

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 to believe, think, or suppose (something)

   I guess I'll go now

4. to let a person remain in a state of uncertainty

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. an estimate or conclusion arrived at by guessing

   a bad guess

2. the act of guessing

3. something difficult to predict

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 guess More Idioms

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

Usage

What is a basic definition of guess? Guess means to attempt to provide an answer to something without knowing with certainty that it is correct. When you guess in this way, you don’t have enough information to know for sure. Guess is also a noun that refers to the answer that you give in such a situation. Guess also means to believe or suppose. Guess has a few other senses as a noun and a verb and is used in several idioms.When you guess, it means you’re trying to provide the right answer even though you don’t have enough information to know what it is.Real-life examples: People guess things because they don’t know all the details or because there is not enough information available. People often guess what the weather will be like, or what the future may hold, or what the right answer is to a question on a test.Used in a sentence: I had no clue what her favorite color was so I guessed that it was red. Guess is also commonly used as a noun to refer to the answer arrived at by a person who is guessing. A guess usually relies on luck or hope because a person doesn’t have enough information.Used in a sentence: I thought my prediction had a chance to come true, but my guess turned out to be wrong. As a verb, guess is also used as a synonym for words like think, believe, and suppose—it can mean to feel that something might be possible, doable, or feasible.Used in a sentence: I guess I can make it to the bank before it closes.

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• guessable adjective
• guesser noun
• guessingly adverb
• preguess noun
• unguessable adjective
• unguessed adjective

Etymology

Origin of guess

First recorded in 1300–50; (for the verb) Middle English gessen, perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Danish, Norwegian gissa, Middle Low German gissen, Middle Dutch gessen, Old Norse geta; noun derivative of the verb; get

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Washington maintains a policy of what it calls “strategic ambiguity” to keep China guessing.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Right now, honestly, it's anyone's guess. We really don't know until general elections are held."

From Barron's

Next week I’ll venture a guess about three trends to watch in the coming year.

From The Wall Street Journal

I guess he thought no one would notice.

From MarketWatch

AI, in which players draw pictures and AI guesses what they are.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assumption
• conclusion
• conjecture
• feeling
• guesswork
• hunch
• hypothesis
• inference
• judgment
• opinion
• prediction
• presumption
• supposition
• theory

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.