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:
Rauh says that might be a substantial underestimate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
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
That’s an important consideration for retirees, who often underestimate their long-term costs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Many severely underestimate the difficulty of Pilates or its high-intensity offshoots, which are built on low-impact movements that prioritize core strength, posture and slow burn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
“Don’t underestimate him. Reyna’s not so bad by herself, but if Octavian shares her power...”
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Subsequent research has shown that these forces had a much greater impact than was historically acknowledged, suggesting that many early population figures were already substantial underestimates.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
“Perhaps Claude, like many of us, underestimates the rate of AI progress,” Anthropic researchers wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 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
“I underestimate him? Are you serious? He underestimates me.”
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
The findings suggest that Heisenberg significantly underestimated how much additional material his reactor would have required.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Antonia, who has three young children, says that being underestimated can be a good thing, and she wants to remain open about her health to inspire other women.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
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
I think punk was underestimated because, look, it’s 50 years later and we’re still here.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
I had underestimated Sohrab’s dedication to soccer/non-American football.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Fashion giants on both sides of the Atlantic are underestimating the Chinese shopper at their own peril.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
“But the good news is that momentum in these data are underestimating overall consumption due to strength in auto sales and resilience in services spending,” he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
We’re underestimating the often-invisible work of people who enable higher-ranking leaders to delegate and get the most out of front-line employees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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
He was always getting himself into trouble—as, for instance, by unhorsing the Orkneys at Westminster—through underestimating the wickedness of the world.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
