estimate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
an approximate judgment or calculation, as of the value, amount, time, size, or weight of something.
- Synonyms:
- appraisal, calculation, valuation
-
a judgment or opinion, as of the qualities of a person or thing.
-
a statement of the approximate charge for work to be done, submitted by a person or business firm ready to undertake the work.
verb
-
to form an approximate idea of (distance, size, cost, etc); calculate roughly; gauge
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to form an opinion about; judge
to estimate one's chances
-
to submit (an approximate price) for (a job) to a prospective client
-
(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
noun
-
an approximate calculation
-
a statement indicating the likely charge for or cost of certain work
-
a judgment; appraisal; opinion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of estimate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin aestimātus “valued,” past participle of aestimāre “to value, fix the value of”
Explanation
A rough calculation or appraisal is an estimate. When you hit another baseball through the kitchen window, your parents will get an estimate of the repair costs. And you should estimate being grounded for approximately 3 weeks. An estimate is kind of like a very educated guess. Making an estimate takes good evaluation skills, and usually estimates are pretty close to the actual outcome. If the garage bill is way higher than the estimate they gave you, for example, you have a right to be angry. But if you forgot to factor in rush hour traffic when you estimated the drive from Boston to New York, that's your own fault.
Vocabulary lists containing estimate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Arithmetic
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Tax Day Words
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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.
A 65-year-old retiring in 2025 could expect to spend an average of $172,500 on healthcare expenses throughout their retirement, according to Fidelity’s Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate from July 2025.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
Estimate of 2025’s tariff-related costs for the Big Three auto makers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025
Moore guided home Estimate in the 2013 Gold Cup to spark joyous scenes.
From BBC • Sep. 10, 2024
Estimate your capacity, activity-wise, then do much less, Okifuji said: “It might be a five-minute walk. Or walking to the mailbox. It could be very minor. But you need to be consistent.”
From Slate • Feb. 25, 2023
Estimate how many pieces of candy corn are in this jar and win it all.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
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.
