guesswork

[ ges-wurk ]

/ ˈgɛsˌwɜrk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR guesswork ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

work or procedure based on or consisting of the making of guesses or conjectures.

Nearby words

Origin of guesswork

First recorded in 1715–25; guess + work

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for guesswork

It's also almost 100% guesswork, at least for the period before 1976, and certainly for the period before 1925.
How Much Does The Presidency Cost?|David Frum|June 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Based on my experience with my own sources, guesswork about who is behind a story is often wrong.
NBC Universal Sees Red|Kim Masters|July 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It's always going to be very much a matter of insight, judgment, guesswork, and so forth.
Interview With Edmund Phelps|The Daily Beast|July 13, 2009|DAILY BEAST
They are far too many; for the chance against eight events being put down in their correct order by guesswork is 40,319 to 1.
The Truth of Christianity|William Harry Turton

What Snap might have done if you had married him is guesswork.
The Heritage of the Desert|Zane Grey
I may be right or wrong, that's guesswork at the best, and let me get to my facts again.
David Balfour, Second Part|Robert Louis Stevenson
It must be kept in mind that these reviews are not haphazard, nor are they a matter of guesswork.
Lippincott's Horn-Ashbaugh Speller|Ernest Horn
"You know it is guesswork; no one can more than approximate the result of sales," answered Mr. Hurd.
The Wyndam Girls|Marion Ames Taggart

British Dictionary definitions for guesswork

guesswork

/ (ˈɡɛsˌwɜːk) /

noun

a set of conclusions, estimates, etc, arrived at by guessing

the process of making guesses

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for guesswork