guess
Americanverb (used with object)
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guesses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
guessed,
past participle, past
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guessing
present participle
-
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
-
to estimate or conjecture about correctly.
to guess what a word means.
-
to think, believe, or suppose.
I guess I can get there in time.
- Antonyms:
- know
verb (used without object)
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guesses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
guessed,
past participle, past
-
guessing
present participle
-
to form an estimate or conjecture (often followed by at orabout ).
We guessed at the weight of the package.
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to estimate or conjecture correctly.
noun
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guesses
plural
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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
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the act of forming such an opinion.
to take a guess at someone's weight.
idioms
verb
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to form or express an uncertain estimate or conclusion (about something), based on insufficient information
guess what we're having for dinner
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to arrive at a correct estimate of (something) by guessing
he guessed my age
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informal to believe, think, or suppose (something)
I guess I'll go now
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to let a person remain in a state of uncertainty
noun
-
an estimate or conclusion arrived at by guessing
a bad guess
-
the act of guessing
-
something difficult to predict
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.
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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guessernoun
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preguessnoun
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guessableadjective
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unguessableadjective
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unguessedadjective
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guessinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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guesssimple
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guessessimple
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have guessedperfect
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has guessedperfect
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am guessingprogressive
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are guessingprogressive
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is guessingprogressive
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have been guessingperfect progressive
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has been guessingperfect progressive
Past
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guessedsimple
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had guessedperfect
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was guessingprogressive
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were guessingprogressive
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had been guessingperfect progressive
Future
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; cf. get
Explanation
When you don't know the answer but you have to say something, you're taking a guess. When you don't know the answer on a test, you have to guess. People on game shows guess when they're not sure. There are wild guesses (when you have no idea) and educated guesses (when you have some information to work with). Trying to guess someone's age or weight is usually a bad idea, especially if you guess too old or heavy. If the teacher doesn't show up, you could say, "I guess there's no class today.”
Vocabulary lists containing guess
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.
See Examples For:
"JoJo has been really brilliant up in... I guess the Claudatorium, but I'm not sure what we call it now," says Flo Sayers, co-host of the Strictly on the Sofa podcast.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
I guess all it took was almost dying … godlike behavior.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
Before making these requests, we had participants guess how many people would agree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Whether that was Holmes speaking or Evans speaking for her is anyone’s guess.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Sure, but Traveler didn’t grow up knowing her. She was already”—I frowned—“like she is, I guess, when he met her.”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
That’s an equation that incorporates educated guesses, considering that future tax rates are unknown, but the best she can do is project the current system through future years.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
She guesses that it makes particleboard, a common use of wood chips.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
I have some pretty good educated guesses about what happened.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
That result highlights an important distinction between simply choosing letters that appear often and choosing guesses that provide the greatest amount of new information.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
In these cases our estimates will be little better than guesses.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Further down the Pacific Coast Highway, at the Malibu Colony Plaza strip mall, a customer and a barista at the local Starbucks guessed at when the lights would come back on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
It wasn’t to last, but nobody could have guessed that.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
A North Carolina state Senate ad said, “You guessed it! AI was definitely used to generate these silly video clips.”
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026
Gemini found "public information online and guessed credentials to access websites it thought were part of the test", a Google official told the BBC, noting that in each instance "the model stopped".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“So, you’re going into the mental health field. I would have never guessed that.”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
What Iamaleava lacks in height she makes up for with her intelligence, placement and angles that keep opponents guessing whether she will hit it down the line or crosscourt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
Finally, your financial adviser came to you holding a “golden” prospectus, allegedly promising you riches, I’m guessing, in a decade or less.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
“You’re kind of guessing what’s going to happen in two years, and no one would have guessed that there’d be tariffs now” two years ago, Chen said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Also, I’m guessing the part about “I will pay for my daughter’s therapy in perpetuity” is in the fine print.
From Salon ● May 3, 2006
“I’m guessing he didn’t tell you about the stuff we did growing up either?”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
