estimate

American  

[es-tuh-meyt, es-tuh-mit, -meyt] / ˈɛs təˌmeɪt, ˈɛs tə mɪt, -ˌmeɪt /

verb (used with object)

estimated, estimating

1. to form an approximate judgment or opinion regarding the worth, amount, size, weight, etc., of; calculate approximately.

   to estimate the cost of a college education.

   Synonyms:

   appraise, evaluate, value, assess, gauge, reckon, count, compute

2. to form an opinion of; judge.

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verb (used without object)

estimated, estimating

1. to make an estimate.

noun

1. an approximate judgment or calculation, as of the value, amount, time, size, or weight of something.

   Synonyms:

   appraisal, calculation, valuation

2. a judgment or opinion, as of the qualities of a person or thing.

3. a statement of the approximate charge for work to be done, submitted by a person or business firm ready to undertake the work.

estimate British  

verb

1. to form an approximate idea of (distance, size, cost, etc); calculate roughly; gauge

2. (tr; may take a clause as object) to form an opinion about; judge

   to estimate one's chances

3. to submit (an approximate price) for (a job) to a prospective client

4. (tr) statistics to assign a value (a point estimate ) or range of values (an interval estimate ) to a parameter of a population on the basis of sampling statistics See estimator

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noun

1. an approximate calculation

2. a statement indicating the likely charge for or cost of certain work

3. a judgment; appraisal; opinion

Other Word Forms

• estimatingly adverb
• estimative adjective
• estimator noun
• preestimate verb (used with object)
• reestimate verb (used with object)
• self-estimate noun
• unestimated adjective
• well-estimated adjective

Etymology

Origin of estimate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin aestimātus “valued,” past participle of aestimāre “to value, fix the value of”

Example Sentences

Fast Retailing’s first-half net profit jumped 20% from a year earlier to Y279.29 billion, higher than analysts’ estimate of Y252.4 billion in a Visible Alpha poll.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

The firm’s estimate for fiscal 2027 Ebitda is also 20% below Wall Street’s consensus forecast.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

The tax reimbursement estimate for Zaslav, who lives in New York, was “calculated based on a 20.00% excise tax rate and an estimated effective tax rate of 54.126% ,” Warner said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Official government statistics estimate 342,100 net additional homes have been delivered in England between Labour being elected in July 2024, and 15 March 2026.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

It was hard to estimate how much time had passed since his parents waved good-bye and walked away.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

Related Words

• appraisal
• assessment
• conclusion
• estimation
• evaluation
• guess
• measure
• measurement
• opinion
• projection
• rating
• survey
• valuation