guess

[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.
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.
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.
Idioms
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
Related forms
guessable, adjective
guesser, noun
guessingly, adverb
preguess, noun, verb
unguessable, adjective
unguessed, adjective
Can be confused
guessed, guest.
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.
Examples from the web for guess
  • It's time again for our weekly contest: guess the location of the photograph above.
  • Buyers usually accept this constraint and make the best guess they can.
  • Yet it's a good guess that the actual number is double or even triple that.
  • The current best guess is that the bulk of the normal matter is trapped in giant gaseous filaments.
  • In the first round, when you draw a name, you can give any clues to help your teammates guess.
  • Have people choose their favorite and guess the price.
  • It's time again for our weekly contest: guess the location of the photograph.
  • Ask your students to guess the name of the place described.
  • My guess is that older alien civilizations will have developed technologies necessary to travel to the stars.
  • When the company sponsored a contest to guess the children's gender, no one got all the correct answers.
British Dictionary definitions for guess

guess

/ɡɛs/
verb (when transitive, may take a clause as object)
1.
when intr, often foll by at or about. 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, mainly 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
noun
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
Derived Forms
guessable, adjective
guesser, noun
guessingly, adverb
Word Origin
C13: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Swedish gissa, Old Danish gitse, Middle Dutch gissen; see get
Word Origin and History for guess
v.

c.1300, gessen "to estimate, appraise," originally "take aim," probably from Scandinavian (cf. Middle Danish gitse, getze "to guess," Old Norse geta "guess, get"), possibly influenced by Middle Dutch gessen, Middle Low German gissen "to guess," all from Proto-Germanic *getiskanan "to get" (see get). Sense evolution is from "to get," to "to take aim at," to "to estimate." Meaning "to hit upon the right answer" is from 1540s. U.S. sense of "calculate, recon" is true to the oldest English meaning. Spelling with gu- is late 16c., sometimes attributed to Caxton and his early experience as a printer in Bruges. Related: Guessed; guessing. Guessing game attested from 1650s.

n.

c.1300, from guess (v.). Verbal shrug phrase your guess is as good as mine attested from 1902.

Idioms and Phrases with guess

guess

see: