1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. guess

Find the word definition

What is "guess"

Crossword clues for guess

guess
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
guess
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a good guess
▪ I’m not sure, but I could make a good guess.
guess the answer
▪ If you don’t know the answer, try guessing it.
hazarding a guess
▪ $50,000? I don’t know. I’m only hazarding a guess.
make...educated guess
▪ Investors must make an educated guess as to the company’s potential.
wild guess
▪ I’m just making a wild guess here, so correct me if I’m wrong.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
correctly
▪ He wondered what was behind it and guessed correctly.
▪ The first team to guess correctly wins the round.
▪ Yesterday winners Jennie Edwards, 10, and Dawn Waters, 30, received their prize for guessing correctly.
▪ Campbell, who once challenged Lathrop to identify tenors in the same format, correctly guesses a handful of more than 20.
▪ You placed bets on what card was going to be drawn and you had to guess correctly to get your money back.
▪ The player who finally guesses correctly chooses the next card.
▪ Somehow my pursuer had guessed correctly at every turn.
▪ Of the 102 symbols, 79 were correctly guessed first time and only 8 symbols required more than 5 guesses.
never
▪ You'd never guess that the performances actually date from the early to mid-1960's!
▪ They had never seen a landscape like this, never guessed one could even exist.
▪ But he must never guess the truth.
▪ But soon, she noticed that he never guessed her name.
▪ But, encased in the false security of her new-found happiness, she had never guessed.
▪ They never guessed she found this distasteful.
▪ Looking at me, you'd never guess I'd killed three people.
▪ A person strolling through the dusty bed of the Arkansas near Dodge City might never guess at the river that was there.
only
▪ For example, instead of typing try other that you can only guess.
▪ I can only guess at what I have done to provoke her.
▪ What had gone from the attic she could only guess, for she did not remember half the things they stored there.
▪ Why this was so we can only guess.
▪ Once again, we can never know, only guess.
▪ What Baden Powell would say to a rap anthem, one can only guess at.
▪ That little creature must have had a strength to survive that we can only guess at.
right
▪ Duncan had guessed right about it being a Shogun, the smaller, two-door version.
▪ If we guess right, then we confirm his suspicions.
▪ As it turns out, David guesses right.
▪ She'd guessed right the first time.
▪ And still Jinny did not guess right.
■ NOUN
prize
▪ No prizes either for guessing his four-legged friend is named after a famous Liverpool manager.
▪ There are no prizes for guessing why this should be.
▪ No prizes for guessing the names of the owners here.
▪ Enclosed his picture - no prizes for guessing his breed.
▪ Yesterday winners Jennie Edwards, 10, and Dawn Waters, 30, received their prize for guessing correctly.
▪ No prizes for guessing the answer to that question.
▪ No prizes for guessing what she was wearing.
▪ No prizes for guessing that Brahms is a major culprit.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I might have known/guessed etc
▪ All those years I might have known her!
▪ Although I might have known you'd arrive just as drinks were being ordered!
▪ Dear little Papa, as I might have known!
▪ If you'd had a big fat bottom I might have guessed.
▪ It was nothing I might have guessed.
▪ Of course, I might have known that you'd have some clever way of dealing with everything, though.
▪ Ooh! I might have known it!
▪ Some years before, I might have guessed Bond's enigmatic presence in the scene.
a conservative estimate/guess
▪ Conservative estimates indicate at least 150 people were killed in the military coup.
▪ All the data published on the effect of gill-nets on small cetaceans probably represents a conservative estimate of the number of deaths.
▪ At a conservative estimate the water was nearly a yard deep, even near the edge.
▪ At a conservative estimate they had cost considerably more than she had just paid for her night's lodging.
▪ By even a conservative estimate, about 10,000 Dall's porpoise were harpooned each year from 1976 to 1987.
▪ I understand that is a conservative estimate.
▪ Narcotics agents believe a conservative estimate of the number of laboratories is between 200 and 300.
▪ On a conservative estimate, there are now about 5,000 books or articles that deal with it, at least in part.
▪ On this basis imitation tasks ought to be regarded as giving a conservative estimate of the child's grammatical knowledge.
educated guess
▪ Are at least able to make an educated guess as to who is collapsing the scrummage. 7.
▪ But, beyond hunches and educated guesses, what about other human characteristics such as beliefs, prejudices and emotions?
▪ Other of the source studies, however, used patient values, clinician values, or educated guesses.
▪ Still, money managers, analysts, and economists are taking their best educated guesses.
▪ That sometimes means making educated guesses.
▪ The law requires the chief of police to make educated guesses about the likelihood that disorder, damage or disruption will occur.
▪ Where and what kinds they will be is an open question that is, at best, an educated guess.
inspired guess/choice etc
▪ As it happens, he made an inspired choice.
▪ But my father's was an inspired guess.
▪ If he can be persuaded to keep religion out of politics, he could prove an inspired choice.
▪ In Whitham's case it was different and he certainly was what could be termed an inspired choice by the Lightweight club.
▪ It could prove an inspired choice for New Zealand.
no prizes for guessing sth
▪ Enclosed his picture - no prizes for guessing his breed.
▪ There are no prizes for guessing why this should be.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ "Are you Dan's brother?'' "Yes, how did you guess?''
▪ "Don't tell me - you got the job." "How'd you guess?"
▪ Guess how much I paid for this watch!
▪ Guess who I saw in town yesterday.
▪ Are you sure Linda's pregnant, or are you just guessing?
▪ Detectives guess the attacker must be aged from 25 - 30.
▪ From their behaviour it was easy to guess that they were married.
▪ Guy looked at her face, and guessed what she was thinking.
▪ He guessed she was about 30.
▪ I'm only guessing, but I should think their house is worth over a million.
▪ I didn't know all the answers so I just had to guess some of them.
▪ Luckily, I guessed the right answer and won the prize!
▪ Sally guessed that he had been drinking for most of the afternoon.
▪ They had already guessed the truth about their son's disappearance.
▪ We can only guess at the cause of the crash.
▪ Which hand have I got the chocolate in? If you guess right you can have it.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Already he's guessing the colour of her toothbrush.
▪ And I guess, yeah, we could stand to read more.
▪ I guess how each one I guess.
▪ I guess I was doing the best I could with the knowledge I had.
▪ No prizes either for guessing his four-legged friend is named after a famous Liverpool manager.
▪ Perhaps you can guess exactly where I fell that night.
▪ She might have guessed that as soon as she tried for a little peace and quiet the whole place would be inundated with callers.
▪ You should have come to Ward or me the minute you suspected it, instead of fooling around guessing.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
educated
▪ Are at least able to make an educated guess as to who is collapsing the scrummage. 7.
▪ Other of the source studies, however, used patient values, clinician values, or educated guesses.
▪ But, beyond hunches and educated guesses, what about other human characteristics such as beliefs, prejudices and emotions?
▪ The law requires the chief of police to make educated guesses about the likelihood that disorder, damage or disruption will occur.
good
▪ April is the best guess for first deliveries.
▪ About once a century is our best guess of how often such a cosmic calamity must occur somewhere on Earth.
▪ Ellen made a best guess as to how likely each one was to happen in the current situation.
▪ The best guess put her in her late twenties.
▪ A good guess, but false none the less.
▪ Still, money managers, analysts, and economists are taking their best educated guesses.
▪ My best guess is that the forests will not recover for a long time, no matter what we do.
lucky
▪ It had been a lucky guess, that was all.
▪ Maybe they made a lucky guess.
▪ That had just been a lucky guess.
▪ The reporters could not tell whether this was because Kalmbach was a lucky guess or a ridiculous one.
▪ And a rather malicious lucky guess to boot.
▪ It is a very addictive game of logic, deduction, and lots of lucky guesses when you first play.
rough
▪ At the side put down a rough guess of the cost that might be involved.
▪ At a rough guess, Pierremont Gardens today stands where the real gardens of Pierremont used to be.
wild
▪ It had thrown her when Luke Calder had made that seemingly wild guess about her, but now she could understand it.
▪ Shall we take a wild guess?
▪ The glitter in his hooded eyes made it impossible for her to hazard even the wildest guess at what he was thinking.
▪ That was Renato, still entertaining the class with wild guesses.
▪ If any child makes wild random guesses note quietly who it is: those pupils will need your attention.
▪ Still, it was discouraging that no one had ventured even a wild guess.
■ VERB
hazard
▪ Not being a builder, nor an architect, I can only hazard a guess.
▪ It would be foolish even to hazard a guess.
▪ The glitter in his hooded eyes made it impossible for her to hazard even the wildest guess at what he was thinking.
▪ We hazard a guess that they're lurking in a shoebox or, worse still, the ubiquitous carrier bag!
▪ What on earth the referee had done to incur such mindless, moronic abuse, one can only hazard a guess.
▪ I hazard a guess that there are not only pure stallions on the moor; fate and carelessness always complicates herd life.
▪ It was hard to say, even hazard a guess.
make
▪ I guessed, but did not make him confirm my guess.
▪ Maybe they made a lucky guess.
▪ So let me begin by making some impressionistic guesses about the views women do in fact currently hold on morality.
▪ Ellen made a best guess as to how likely each one was to happen in the current situation.
▪ Nor is there much existing evidence, here or in other countries, on which to make a reasonable guess.
▪ That sometimes means making educated guesses.
▪ Why do I make this bold guess?
take
▪ Shall we take a wild guess?
▪ Every time the father took a wrong guess, the youngest daughter laughed loudly.
▪ Still, money managers, analysts, and economists are taking their best educated guesses.
▪ Where does all that money come from and where does it go? Take a guess.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I might have known/guessed etc
▪ All those years I might have known her!
▪ Although I might have known you'd arrive just as drinks were being ordered!
▪ Dear little Papa, as I might have known!
▪ If you'd had a big fat bottom I might have guessed.
▪ It was nothing I might have guessed.
▪ Of course, I might have known that you'd have some clever way of dealing with everything, though.
▪ Ooh! I might have known it!
▪ Some years before, I might have guessed Bond's enigmatic presence in the scene.
a conservative estimate/guess
▪ Conservative estimates indicate at least 150 people were killed in the military coup.
▪ All the data published on the effect of gill-nets on small cetaceans probably represents a conservative estimate of the number of deaths.
▪ At a conservative estimate the water was nearly a yard deep, even near the edge.
▪ At a conservative estimate they had cost considerably more than she had just paid for her night's lodging.
▪ By even a conservative estimate, about 10,000 Dall's porpoise were harpooned each year from 1976 to 1987.
▪ I understand that is a conservative estimate.
▪ Narcotics agents believe a conservative estimate of the number of laboratories is between 200 and 300.
▪ On a conservative estimate, there are now about 5,000 books or articles that deal with it, at least in part.
▪ On this basis imitation tasks ought to be regarded as giving a conservative estimate of the child's grammatical knowledge.
educated guess
▪ Are at least able to make an educated guess as to who is collapsing the scrummage. 7.
▪ But, beyond hunches and educated guesses, what about other human characteristics such as beliefs, prejudices and emotions?
▪ Other of the source studies, however, used patient values, clinician values, or educated guesses.
▪ Still, money managers, analysts, and economists are taking their best educated guesses.
▪ That sometimes means making educated guesses.
▪ The law requires the chief of police to make educated guesses about the likelihood that disorder, damage or disruption will occur.
▪ Where and what kinds they will be is an open question that is, at best, an educated guess.
inspired guess/choice etc
▪ As it happens, he made an inspired choice.
▪ But my father's was an inspired guess.
▪ If he can be persuaded to keep religion out of politics, he could prove an inspired choice.
▪ In Whitham's case it was different and he certainly was what could be termed an inspired choice by the Lightweight club.
▪ It could prove an inspired choice for New Zealand.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ "Did Cindy tell you that she's sold the business?" "No, it was just an educated guess."
▪ "When was the house built - about 1600?" "That's a good guess - it was 1624."
▪ "Who's her new boyfriend then?" "I'll give you three guesses!''
▪ I'll give you three guesses.
▪ I'm not sure why she left him, but I think I can make a guess.
▪ I didn't really know the answer. It was just a lucky guess.
▪ This is only a guess, but I think Barbara might have gone to Jan's house.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ And those guesses will come more from our own sense of meaning and beauty than the actual beliefs of the cave artists.
▪ It is anybody's guess as to how the sale will fare.
▪ The reporters could not tell whether this was because Kalmbach was a lucky guess or a ridiculous one.
▪ What happens to Mr Mandelson next is anyone's guess.
▪ Your guess is as good as mine.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Guess

Guess \Guess\ (g[e^]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Guessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Guessing.] [OE. gessen; akin to Dan. gisse, Sw. gissa, Icel. gizha, D. gissen: cf. Dan. giette to guess, Icel. geta to get, to guess. Probably originally, to try to get, and akin to E. get. See Get.]

  1. To form an opinion concerning, without knowledge or means of knowledge; to judge of at random; to conjecture.

    First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess.
    --Pope.

  2. To judge or form an opinion of, from reasons that seem preponderating, but are not decisive.

    We may then guess how far it was from his design.
    --Milton.

    Of ambushed men, whom, by their arms and dress, To be Taxallan enemies I guess.
    --Dryden.

  3. To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly; as, he who guesses the riddle shall have the ring; he has guessed my designs.

  4. To hit upon or reproduce by memory. [Obs.]

    Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them.
    --Shak.

  5. To think; to suppose; to believe; to imagine; -- followed by an objective clause.

    Not all together; better far, I guess, That we do make our entrance several ways.
    --Shak.

    But in known images of life I guess The labor greater.
    --Pope.

    Syn: To conjecture; suppose; surmise; suspect; divine; think; imagine; fancy.

    Usage: To Guess, Think, Reckon. Guess denotes, to attempt to hit upon at random; as, to guess at a thing when blindfolded; to conjecture or form an opinion on hidden or very slight grounds: as, to guess a riddle; to guess out the meaning of an obscure passage. The use of the word guess for think or believe, although abundantly sanctioned by good English authors, is now regarded as antiquated and objectionable by discriminating writers. It may properly be branded as a colloguialism and vulgarism when used respecting a purpose or a thing about which there is no uncertainty; as, I guess I 'll go to bed.

Guess

Guess \Guess\, v. i. To make a guess or random judgment; to conjecture; -- with at, about, etc.

This is the place, as well as I may guess.
--Milton.

Guess

Guess \Guess\, n. An opinion as to anything, formed without sufficient or decisive evidence or grounds; an attempt to hit upon the truth by a random judgment; a conjecture; a surmise.

A poet must confess His art 's like physic -- but a happy guess.
--Dryden.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
guess

c.1300, gessen "to estimate, appraise," originally "take aim," probably from Scandinavian (compare Middle Danish gitse, getze "to guess," Old Norse geta "guess, get"), possibly influenced by Middle Dutch gessen, Middle Low German gissen "to guess," all from Proto-Germanic *getiskanan "to get" (see get). Sense evolution is from "to get," to "to take aim at," to "to estimate." Meaning "to hit upon the right answer" is from 1540s. U.S. sense of "calculate, recon" is true to the oldest English meaning. Spelling with gu- is late 16c., sometimes attributed to Caxton and his early experience as a printer in Bruges. Related: Guessed; guessing. Guessing game attested from 1650s.

guess

c.1300, from guess (v.). Verbal shrug phrase your guess is as good as mine attested from 1902.

Wiktionary
guess

Etymology 1 vb. 1 To reach a partly (or totally) unqualified conclusion. 2 To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly. 3 (context chiefly US English) to suppose (introducing a proposition of uncertain plausibility). 4 (context obsolete English) To hit upon or reproduce by memory. Etymology 2

n. A prediction about the outcome of something, typically made without factual evidence or support.

Related phrases:
WordNet
guess

  1. n. a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence [syn: conjecture, supposition, surmise, surmisal, speculation, hypothesis]

  2. an estimate based on little or no information [syn: guesswork, guessing, shot, dead reckoning]

guess

  1. v. expect, believe, or suppose; "I imagine she earned a lot of money with her new novel"; "I thought to find her in a bad state"; "he didn't think to find her in the kitchen"; "I guess she is angry at me for standing her up" [syn: think, opine, suppose, imagine, reckon]

  2. put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation; "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again"; "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong" [syn: venture, pretend, hazard]

  3. judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time); "I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds" [syn: estimate, gauge, approximate, judge]

  4. guess correctly; solve by guessing; "He guessed the right number of beans in the jar and won the prize" [syn: infer]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Guess (disambiguation)

A guess is a conjecture or estimation. To "guess" is to make a prediction without sufficient information or knowledge.

Guess, GUESS, or Guessing may also refer to:

  • Guess (clothing), an American name-brand clothing line
  • Guess (variety show), a variety show in Taiwan
  • Guess (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure), character in the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Guess (clothing)

Guess (styled as GUESS or Guess?) is an American clothing brand and retailer. In addition to clothing for both men and women, Guess markets other fashion accessories such as watches, jewelry, perfumes, and shoes. The company also owns the line Marciano.

Guess (variety show)

Guess was a Taiwanese television variety show, hosted by Jacky Wu and other hosts, that began on 4 July 1996 and ended its run on 18 August 2012. It was broadcast in Taiwan, weekly on Saturdays from 22:00 to 00:00 on free-to-air China Television (CTV) (中視) and syndicated to be broadcast in Singapore weekly on Saturdays 23:30 on free-to-air MediaCorp Channel U and Malaysia's 8TV weekly on Sundays 17:00 to 18:30.

The show was twice nominated for Best Variety Programme and hosts Jacky Wu and Aya won Best Host in a Variety Programme from two nominations, at the Golden Bell Awards.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "guess".

Weeden gave it to his companion after the end, as a mute clue to the abnormality which had occurred, or whether, as is more probable, Smith had it before, and added the underscoring himself from what he had managed to extract from his friend by shrewd guessing and adroit cross-questioning.

We had suddenly switched our allegiance from India to Aboriginal Australia and I guess, in their eyes, they could see no reason why we would do that except for the money.

I guess that was one of the few times when I was lucky to be black, because the older Aboriginal girls always gave us black babies an extra kiss and cuddle.

Miraculously unbroken despite the changes in acceleration, its weight was impossible to guess in the microgravity of the ship, but its mass was pleasing.

I guessed that my sudden and completely unexpected attack would have permanently acounted for two or three of the seamen, and may have wounded one or two others.

She now first felt a sensation to which she had been before a stranger, and which, when she had leisure to reflect on it, began to acquaint her with some secrets, which the reader, if he doth not already guess them, will know in due time.

An observing critic who, without being acquainted with us, wished to guess whether love was present at our happy party, might have suspected, perhaps, but he certainly could not have affirmed, that it was there.

He guessed that Billy, like Barry, was not allowing for his acumen in this new world of skulduggery.

He guessed correctly about where she was heading: back to the acupuncture shop.

From this domestic conversation, one would never guess that Addis and he led an army, or that Nesta accompanied them as something of a prisoner.

Mortlake, glancing back a short time before the sea appeared on the horizon, had seen the other aeroplane, and guessing at once what its appearance meant, had determined to keep on, even at the risk of plunging himself and his passenger into the sea.

Yankees, but I guess they have a wrinkle or two to grow afore they progress ahead on us yet.

He had to guess, of course, which way agile Tallareyish would spin, and even though he guessed correctly that the elf would go to his right, his swipe was batted aside, not once but three times, before it ever got close to hitting the mark.

No one guessed that the mourning dress of the celebrated French writer belonged to the merchant Fromery, and that the glittering diamond agraffes in his bosom, and the costly rings on his fingers, were the property of the Jew Hirsch.

Lieutenant Akers saw you put one under that rover, and my guess was that you took the opportunity once you were inside the habitat to bury a few more.