underestimate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
underestimates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
underestimated,
past participle, past
-
underestimating
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
underestimates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
underestimated,
past participle, past
-
underestimating
present participle
noun
-
underestimates
plural
verb
-
to make too low an estimate of
he underestimated the cost
-
to think insufficiently highly of
to underestimate a person
noun
Usage
Underestimate is sometimes wrongly used where overestimate is meant: the importance of his work cannot be overestimated (not cannot be underestimated )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
underestimatesimple
-
underestimatessimple
-
have underestimatedperfect
-
has underestimatedperfect
-
am underestimatingprogressive
-
are underestimatingprogressive
-
is underestimatingprogressive
-
have been underestimatingperfect progressive
-
has been underestimatingperfect progressive
Past
-
underestimatedsimple
-
had underestimatedperfect
-
was underestimatingprogressive
-
were underestimatingprogressive
-
had been underestimatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of underestimate
Explanation
To underestimate is to guess that something is worth less or is smaller than it really is. You might underestimate the size of a one-pound hamburger until you realize it's too big to fit in your stomach. When you "estimate" you take a guess at something, and when you underestimate, your guess falls short or below. If you underestimate how much something costs, you might show up at a store without enough money, and if you underestimate the strength of an opponent who is small, you might find yourself on the ground wondering what hit you. Often when we "assume" something, we make a guess based on how things appear — that's one way to underestimate.
Vocabulary lists containing underestimate
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When Stars Are Scattered
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Out of My Mind
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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:
"I think that sometimes we forget to breathe, like really intentionally breathe, and we underestimate the powers that it might bring to our body and mind."
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Wesley Ace has no complaints when people underestimate his football ability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Energy Information Administration and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has a tendency to underestimate crude demand.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
It’s perfectly reasonable for Claude to underestimate its own abilities and assume it can’t do certain things—because until recently, it couldn’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Don’t underestimate me, child. I will not tolerate insubordination. Do I make myself clear?”
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
Although this condition is linked to a wide variety of negative health effects, the public chronically underestimates its seriousness.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
That there are really only two options for communication vastly underestimates dogs’ communicative potential.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
They argued to CMS that the rates were based on underestimates of healthcare spending trends, and that the recalibration distorted the payment setups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
In younger adults, focusing on short-term risk often underestimates the probability that they can get sick later in life.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026
Arguably, Mauer underestimates the scope of the challenge by focusing narrowly on the prison system, rather than counting all of the people employed in the criminal justice bureaucracy.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
It also found that there was a widely held belief that migrants calling from small boats exaggerated the distress, meaning the coastguard underestimated the emergency.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Canadians have never felt quite safe with America, while Americans have consistently misunderstood and underestimated the enormous land to the north.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
The threat that rising temperatures fuelled by climate change pose to the health of older people has been dramatically underestimated, according to a US modelling study published Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
But from being underestimated, I remember my dad being like, “You have to get comfortable with ‘no.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Well, my mistake. I underestimated you, Red. Boy, did I.”
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
This is why Muir says that “the market is vastly underestimating the dangers lurking under the covers.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
Don’t get me wrong, I am not underestimating the importance of water.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
"That is why we are committed to progressing in a collaborative way, whilst not underestimating the considerable challenges ahead, and providing stability for all at the earliest opportunity."
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Harrison admitted to underestimating the backlash from fans but defended the trade, initially saying he had “no regrets.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
Funny, he knew Leon was in a precarious position and yet there was always the danger of underestimating him.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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.
