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.
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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
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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
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the act of guessing
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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:
Given the film’s title, we can guess where it is going.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
No one knows, but Paulsen throws out an alarming guess: He thinks we might see a 10% to 20% correction.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
It fills me up, it makes me so happy, it’s such a good way to like get out my competitive juices, I guess.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
I was correct, I guess; here I am, being paid to write about feeling like a rube.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Dad pushed back from the table and said, “Well, I guess I’ll go practice some diversified farming.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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
Using these clues, players continue making guesses until they either find the answer and turn all five squares green or run out of attempts.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
They all had guesses: maybe arthritis, maybe lactose intolerance, maybe stress.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
But those are my are my guesses right there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
He doesn’t think he shut it off when he was handling it last night, but he guesses it’s possible....
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
“I wouldn’t have guessed that at my age I would be having so many different and varied opportunities,” Anderson says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
That’s not who I’d have guessed was on this app.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Hugging Face researchers guessed the mysterious attackers had used one of the big AI models but they had no idea who or where the criminals were.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Shock guessed they’d smell like forgotten meat in a broken freezer or animal remains on a farm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
I guessed it was payment for being extras and for the props.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Keeping adversaries, the public and even close allies guessing is part of his method.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
It’s about making sure that when your children say, “Here’s what Mom and Dad would want,” they’re not guessing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
I missed it back then, and I’m guessing you did too.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
I’m just guessing this based on what happened when he and producer Toshio Suzuki tried to sell “My Neighbor Totoro” back in 1987.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Scoob is guessing this is the Winnebago G’ma mentioned earlier, though it’s clearly the great-great-grandparent model of the motor home where Scoob is currently stretched out in his bed, staring at this picture.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
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.
