estimate

[ verb es-tuh-meyt; noun es-tuh-mit, -meyt ]

/ verb ˈɛs təˌmeɪt; noun ˈɛs tə mɪt, -ˌmeɪt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: estimate / estimated / estimates / estimating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), es·ti·mat·ed, es·ti·mat·ing.

to form an approximate judgment or opinion regarding the worth, amount, size, weight, etc., of; calculate approximately: to estimate the cost of a college education.

to form an opinion of; judge.

verb (used without object), es·ti·mat·ed, es·ti·mat·ing.

to make an estimate.

noun

an approximate judgment or calculation, as of the value, amount, time, size, or weight of something.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR estimate

1 compute, count, reckon, gauge, assess, value, evaluate, appraise.

4 valuation, calculation, appraisal.

See synonyms for estimate on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of estimate

1525–35; <Latin aestimātus, past participle of aestimāre to value, estimate; see -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM estimate

es·ti·mat·ing·ly, adverbes·ti·ma·tor, nounpre·es·ti·mate, verb (used with object), pre·es·ti·mat·ed, pre·es·ti·mat·ing.pre·es·ti·mate, noun

re·es·ti·mate, verb (used with object), re·es·ti·mat·ed, re·es·ti·mat·ing.re·es·ti·mate, nounself-es·ti·mate, nounun·es·ti·mat·ed, adjectivewell-es·ti·mat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use estimate in a sentence

We see detoxing as a path to transcendence, a symbol of modern urban virtue and self-transformation through abstinence.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Stephanie Giorgio, a classical musician, credits The Class for helping her cope with anxiety, focus, fear, and self-doubt.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For someone with anorexia, self-starvation makes them feel better.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Should capability delivery experience additional changes, this estimate will be revised appropriately.
Pentagon Misfires in Stealth Jet Scandal|Dave Majumdar|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

I went into the audition as Fericito, the Venezuelan percussionist, and then I did a self-defense expert.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Let the thought of self pass in, and the beauty of great action is gone, like the bloom from a soiled flower.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
Now this setting up of an orderly law-abiding self seems to me to imply that there are impulses which make for order.
Children's Ways|James Sully
At present, Louis was too self-absorbed by the struggles within him, to look deep into what was passing around him.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
As company after company appeared, we were able to form a pretty exact estimate of their numbers.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
But to wave this discourse of Heathens, how many self-contradicting principles are there held among Christians?
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe

British Dictionary definitions for estimate

estimate

verb (ˈɛstɪˌmeɪt)

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; judgeto 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 statisticsSee estimator

noun (ˈɛstɪmɪt)

an approximate calculation

a statement indicating the likely charge for or cost of certain work

a judgment; appraisal; opinion

Derived forms of estimate

estimative, adjective

Word Origin for estimate

C16: from Latin aestimāre to assess the worth of, of obscure origin

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

estimate

OTHER WORDS FOR estimate

Origin of estimate

OTHER WORDS FROM estimate

Words related to estimate

How to use estimate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for estimate

Derived forms of estimate

Word Origin for estimate