overestimate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overestimates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overestimated,
past participle, past
-
overestimating
present participle
-
to estimate at too high a value, amount, rate, or the like.
Don't overestimate the car's trade-in value.
-
to hold in too great esteem or to expect too much from.
Don't overestimate him—he's no smarter than you are.
noun
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overestimates
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overestimatesimple
-
overestimatessimple
-
have overestimatedperfect
-
has overestimatedperfect
-
am overestimatingprogressive
-
are overestimatingprogressive
-
is overestimatingprogressive
-
have been overestimatingperfect progressive
-
has been overestimatingperfect progressive
Past
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overestimatedsimple
-
had overestimatedperfect
-
was overestimatingprogressive
-
were overestimatingprogressive
-
had been overestimatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overestimate
Explanation
If you're confident your favorite team will win the championship even though the star player is injured, you may want to reconsider: don't let your team spirit cause you to overestimate, or overvalue, the team's abilities. When you estimate something, you make a calculation or a judgment of its value. So, when you overestimate, you assign too much value to the thing you are judging. If you overestimate how much time you have left to get to school, you could be late. Likewise, if you overestimate how prepared you are for a test, you might end up with a poor grade. This verb is the opposite of underestimate, or “to assign too little value.”
Vocabulary lists containing overestimate
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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:
"But I also don't think we should overestimate the impact of one or two difficult cases," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Some analysts caution the new measure might still overestimate inflation tied to computer software.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Confirming the upcoming meeting between Araghchi and Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The importance of this conversation is hard to overestimate given how the situation around Iran and in the Middle East is developing."
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
"If you are contacting a sample with a gloved hand, you're likely imparting these stearates that could overestimate your results."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026
The curse of knowledge means that we’re more likely to overestimate the average reader’s familiarity with our little world than to underestimate it.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
NBCUniversal executive Mark Marshall publicly criticized Nielsen, saying it overestimates streaming viewership at the expense of traditional media companies’ valuations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
Unfortunately, the price action overestimates near-term profit possibility, Reese explained while cutting the stock to Underperform from Neutral.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
It's tremendous knockabout stuff, but it rather overestimates the scale of the challenge Scotland have faced when playing against England in the Townsend era.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
The high demand surged global lithium production, but in recent months prices have significantly dipped due to a short-term oversupply in the metal and overestimates in electric vehicle purchases.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
Tyranny is, in the long run, the most unstable form of government, because it grossly overestimates the amount that men will pay for the benefit of order.
From The Moral Economy by Ralph Barton Perry
It also overestimated diastolic blood pressure, the bottom number, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats, by 4.0 mmHg.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
But the strategists hold that these worries are overestimated.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
He has admitted he overestimated how well his players would deal with the pressure of the Ashes, yet has to marry that with his determination to remove pressure from the dressing room.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
The practice upended hotels’ planning by prompting them to increase staff and begin World Cup-themed renovations, preparing for crowds that may have been overestimated from the outset.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Same story: idealistic, energetic young guys who overestimated themselves, underestimated the country, and ended up in trouble.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
There's a risk of people overestimating a robot's capabilities, he says.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
But investors might be overestimating the odds that central banks will raise rates in response to the war.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
What is certain is that this will take much more time than Musk imagines, even if he isn’t overestimating his ultimate needs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
However, Adobe’s buyback pledge indicates that management thinks the market is severely overestimating the impact of such AI on its business.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
It was flattering, but Shady was highly overestimating my circle of friends.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
