guesswork

[ges-wurk]

noun

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

guesswork

/ ˈɡɛsˌwɜːk /

noun

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

2. the process of making guesses

Word History and Origins

Origin of guesswork¹

First recorded in 1715–25; guess + work

Example Sentences

It even comes with straightforward meat probes that display their readings in the app, taking the guesswork out of doneness and making overcooked brisket a thing of the past.

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She said treatment had often felt "like guesswork".

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The work is personal for Chan, who recalls craving more precise treatments for serious pediatric illnesses rather than the educated guesswork she often encountered as a physician.

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Predicting these things at the start is always a bit of guesswork - winning the Champions League comes down to fitness and form in key moments.

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"Breakthroughs in this very difficult field have tended to rely on the memory, the subjective judgement and the hunch/guesswork of individual scholars, supported by traditional, encyclopaedic databases. Aeneas opens up entirely new horizons."

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Related Words

• conjecture 
• hunch