guess
Americanverb (used with object)
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guesses,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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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
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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:
"I guess there was speculation to that effect, but I don't know if there were any links," said Ware.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
“My guess is the market is assigning this a low probability, but the consequences are large enough that it deserves some premium.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
I can’t guess because it’s not based on known data such as decisions the band had made about what they were and were not interested in playing this tour.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
For White, who opened an account on the platform during high school, "it seemed innocent enough, I guess, at the time."
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“And I guess our families don’t make it any easier,” she added.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Hominin fossils are so rare that generally the differences between them are huge, and researchers are left to make educated guesses regarding what existed in the missing parts of the fossil record.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
I have some pretty good educated guesses about what happened.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
Instead of simply choosing the word that seems most likely to be correct, the researchers looked for guesses that would eliminate the greatest number of possibilities.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
Of course, power providers build in redundancies to make up for these risks and model their best guesses for how long each piece of equipment will last.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
And I find myself overwhelmed by another slew of thoughts crowding my mind, guesses of what might have happened to Hideo in his past.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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
Well done for those of you who guessed.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Not wanting you to miss his meaning, if you haven’t already guessed by the title, Steinbeck has a character read the entire passage from Genesis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
As you might have guessed, that mysterious massive object was the Juggernaut.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
For employees, it’s often too little information to plan around, and just enough to stoke weeks—even months—of worrying and guessing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Playing someone who keeps you guessing is exactly the kind of challenge I love."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The average salary for a job in marketing is $68,000 a year — more than double that for the median than — I’m guessing, as it depends on the role — your six-figure tech job.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 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
“Totally. But I’m guessing Mr. Lemoncello’s Gesticulatron technology is way more sophisticated.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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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.
