estimate
Americanverb (used with object)
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estimates,
present (3rd person singular)
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estimated,
past participle, past
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estimating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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estimates,
present (3rd person singular)
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estimated,
past participle, past
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estimating
present participle
noun
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estimates
plural
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an approximate judgment or calculation, as of the value, amount, time, size, or weight of something.
- Synonyms:
- appraisal, calculation, valuation
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a judgment or opinion, as of the qualities of a person or thing.
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a statement of the approximate charge for work to be done, submitted by a person or business firm ready to undertake the work.
verb
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to form an approximate idea of (distance, size, cost, etc); calculate roughly; gauge
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to form an opinion about; judge
to estimate one's chances
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to submit (an approximate price) for (a job) to a prospective client
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(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 statistics See estimator
noun
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an approximate calculation
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a statement indicating the likely charge for or cost of certain work
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a judgment; appraisal; opinion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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estimatornoun
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preestimatenoun
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reestimatenoun
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self-estimatenoun
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preestimateverb (used with object)
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reestimateverb (used with object)
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estimativeadjective
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unestimatedadjective
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well-estimatedadjective
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estimatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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estimatesimple
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estimatessimple
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have estimatedperfect
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has estimatedperfect
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am estimatingprogressive
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are estimatingprogressive
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is estimatingprogressive
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have been estimatingperfect progressive
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has been estimatingperfect progressive
Past
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estimatedsimple
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had estimatedperfect
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was estimatingprogressive
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were estimatingprogressive
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had been estimatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of estimate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin aestimātus “valued,” past participle of aestimāre “to value, fix the value of”
Explanation
A rough calculation or appraisal is an estimate. When you hit another baseball through the kitchen window, your parents will get an estimate of the repair costs. And you should estimate being grounded for approximately 3 weeks. An estimate is kind of like a very educated guess. Making an estimate takes good evaluation skills, and usually estimates are pretty close to the actual outcome. If the garage bill is way higher than the estimate they gave you, for example, you have a right to be angry. But if you forgot to factor in rush hour traffic when you estimated the drive from Boston to New York, that's your own fault.
Vocabulary lists containing estimate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Arithmetic
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Tax Day Words
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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:
The Goldman team estimate that artificial-intelligence infrastructure stocks have accounted for about half of that EPS growth.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Observers close to the house-church movement estimate that another 8% to 10% of the population would soon affiliate with Christian churches if government opposition to the religion ended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Motheram's research does not estimate precisely how sensitive merchants are to MDR.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
OTTAWA—Factory sales in Canada climbed in June for a fifth straight month-over-month gain, adding to momentum that could deliver second-quarter growth well above the Bank of Canada’s original estimate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
As a way to get a rough estimate, however, the capture-recapture method is effective, and of more generality than the fish example might suggest.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Contrary to popular perception that it is for the rich, the brand gets more than half its business from middle-class consumers, according to Bernstein estimates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
At the last FOMC, Hatzius estimates only four to five out of 12 members were in favor of a hike, and the tone of recent data is unlikely to increase that number.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
It estimates staying put costs British savers around £12bn in missed interest every year, based on analysis of Financial Conduct Authority data.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Recent estimates indicate that nearly 40% of Alzheimer's cases may be connected to such factors.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
According to most estimates, by the mid-1770s, the average American colonist consumed more than three quarts of molasses a year—making it an irreplaceable part of the colonial economy.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
If upheld, the immunity would eliminate a pending tax liability estimated at $100 million.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Rosebank is estimated to contain the equivalent of up to 300 million barrels of oil and at its peak will produce approximately 69,000 barrels a day.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Some first-lien lenders received full recoveries, but junior debtholders received an estimated 4.9 cents on the dollar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Schultz will likely not see significant savings on the scale of Bezos, who has an estimated net worth of $281.3 billion, but he still stands to benefit financially from his move.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
If it turned out that the River of Doubt was a tributary of the Amazon River, they estimated that they had to travel another four hundred miles.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
The team also used generalized estimating equation models to examine how cardiovascular factors were related to changes in cognition.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
High-net-worth individuals have even higher expectations, estimating they will need $2.67 million to retire comfortably.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
The staggering $1.4 trillion in alleged damages comes from estimating the number of affected users in the four states.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The company, which is home to cable networks CNBC, MS NOW and E!, on Thursday said it now expects annual revenue to be $6.2 billion to $6.45 billion, while analysts are estimating $6.41 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Joliot’s team accomplished that task in March, estimating the yield of secondary neutrons from U-235 at about 3.5 neutrons per uranium fission.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
