estimate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
estimates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
estimated,
past participle, past
-
estimating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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estimates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
estimated,
past participle, past
-
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.
-
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
-
an approximate calculation
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a statement indicating the likely charge for or cost of certain work
-
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
-
has been estimatingperfect progressive
Past
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estimatedsimple
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had estimatedperfect
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was estimatingprogressive
-
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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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 4
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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 company’s cost guidance includes an estimate for the recently announced employee voluntary exit offer.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
That is up about 10% from last year’s estimate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
By combining these observations, astronomers could examine the objects' colors, estimate their sizes, and determine how they orbit the Sun.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
According to an estimate by Goldman Sachs, the first shipments of Russian diesel might pare diesel prices in the U.S. by no more than two to five cents per gallon at the pump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
He attributed this circumstance to Burnham: “too high an estimate cannot be placed on the industry, skill and tact with which this result was secured by the master of us all.”
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Shares declined as much as 4% after the company made the projections, which fell short of Wall Street estimates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The company said it projects services revenue growth of between 8% and 9% in the current quarter, below analysts’ estimates of 12%.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
She estimates that one dress she found was worth £600.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
The company’s third-quarter sales of $16.58 billion were roughly flat year-over-year but beat Wall Street estimates of $15.85 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Tinibossol estimates a population of not over 100 million on the Three Continents, and considers it to have been stable for at least a millennium.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
One is the share of households whose estimated debt payments on mortgages, car payments, credit cards, etc. exceed 40% of their income, considered a high burden.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
“Capacity pressures appear a little tighter than previously estimated and there are indications that higher fuel prices are being passed through to prices of other goods and services,” it said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
To make the comparison as consistent as possible, researchers prepared and supplied meals covering 75% of each participant's estimated daily calorie needs.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
Hundreds of stores were targeted by the overnight hack, which spoiled fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
An estimated 40,000 Spiritualist believers resided in that metropolis already, but with a growing population of half a million people, there was plenty of opportunity to grow the spirit cause as well.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
And Islam has long been considered one of the fastest-growing religions in the country, with Pew Research estimating that by 2040, Muslims will replace Jews as the nation’s second-largest religious group after Christians.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
Hipora, which works with businesses across East and Southern Africa, says employee theft is a huge problem, estimating that it accounts for more than 60% of losses recorded by small businesses.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
To understand their activity habits, participants completed questionnaires estimating how many hours each week they spent being physically active.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Emma Li, an analyst at energy tracker Vortexa, also reported a major drop, estimating that there were about 6 million barrels of Iranian oil off Singapore as of Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
My father was calculating minutes, estimating the temperature of the water, readjusting his estimate of when Bing fell.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
