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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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:
Their analysis found that conventional assessments underestimate total heat exposure by more than 150% on average, a difference that could have important consequences for understanding ecosystem health.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
And don't underestimate the importance of keeping backbenchers content, feeling understood.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
We’re also seeing in follow-up work that people tend to underestimate how much of their information is actually public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Energy Information Administration and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has a tendency to underestimate crude demand.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Nuclear power source, if I’m not mistaken. We must be careful not to underestimate our opponents.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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
Yass said fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, if anything, underestimates his contribution to the U.S. economy.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
That there are really only two options for communication vastly underestimates dogs’ communicative potential.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
“We believe the Street still underestimates the sustainability of margin recovery,” Tarlowe writes, adding $3 to his price target, to $245, and reiterating a Buy rating.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
“Never underestimate a Swanburne girl,” she repeated uncertainly, “for a Swanburne girl never underestimates herself.”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
But for whatever reason, that becomes the data point for why I underestimated the magnitude of the miss, which then becomes the data point for my firing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
This week she said the Trump administration had "very much underestimated" Canada's importance to Maine's business community.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 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
But perhaps Hrgovic had been underestimated by almost everybody - Itauma, the media, pundits, former fighters and bookmakers who installed the Briton as a heavy favourite.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The terrible danger is that we have grossly underestimated their value in keeping at bay a dark tide of enemies that, without their help, can overrun us.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Don’t get me wrong, I am not underestimating the importance of water.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Usually, implied volatility sits higher than realized volatility, but when the gap starts to close, it can signal that investors are underestimating the risk of a selloff in the near term.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Europe is already paying the price for underestimating that strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Musk pushed back against sceptics on an earnings call: "I think people are really underestimating Starlink".
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Of course. Pyce took us once unawares, but we won’t make the mistake of underestimating him again.”
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
