guess

guess
[[t]ge̱s[/t]]
♦♦
guesses, guessing, guessed
1) VERB If you guess something, you give an answer or provide an opinion which may not be true because you do not have definite knowledge about the matter concerned.

[V that] The suit was faultless: Wood guessed that he was a very successful publisher or a banker...

[V at n/wh] You can only guess at what mental suffering they endure...

[V n] Paula reached for her camera, guessed distance and exposure, and shot two frames...

[V wh] Guess what I did for the whole of the first week...

[V adv] If she guessed wrong, it meant twice as many meetings the following week. [Also V with quote]

2) VERB If you guess that something is the case, you correctly form the opinion that it is the case, although you do not have definite knowledge about it.

[V that] By now you will have guessed that I'm back in Ireland...

[V that] As you've probably guessed, the problem was electrical...

[V wh] He should have guessed what would happen...

[V n] Someone might have guessed our secret and passed it on.

3) N-COUNT: oft N that, N at n, N as to n/wh A guess is an attempt to give an answer or provide an opinion which may not be true because you do not have definite knowledge about the matter concerned.

My guess is that the chance that these vaccines will work is zero...

He'd taken her pulse and made a guess at her blood pressure...

Well, we can hazard a guess at the answer.

4) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you say that something is anyone's guess or anybody's guess, you mean that no-one can be certain about what is really true. [INFORMAL]

Just when this will happen is anyone's guess...

It's anybody's guess what happened.

5) PHRASE: PHR with cl (vagueness) You say at a guess to indicate that what you are saying is only an estimate or what you believe to be true, rather than being a definite fact.

At a guess he's been dead for two days.

6) PHRASE: PHR with cl, PHR so/not (vagueness) You say I guess to show that you are slightly uncertain or reluctant about what you are saying. [mainly AM, INFORMAL]

I guess she thought that was pretty smart...

I guess he's right...

`I think you're being paranoid.' - `Yeah. I guess so.'

7) PHRASE: V inflects If someone keeps you guessing, they do not tell you what you want to know.

The author's intention is to keep everyone guessing until the bitter end...

She was keeping everyone guessing about the latest love in her life.

8) CONVENTION You say guess what to draw attention to something exciting, surprising, or interesting that you are about to say. [INFORMAL]

Guess what, I just got my first part in a movie.


English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Guess? — Guess?, Inc. Tipo Pública (NYSE: GES) Fundación Los Ángeles, CA (1981) …   Wikipedia Español

  • guess — The informal use of I guess meaning ‘I think it likely, I suppose’ developed in America in the late 18c from the standard use of the phrase meaning ‘it is my opinion or hypothesis (that)’. The Americanness of the informal use has been marked… …   Modern English usage

  • guess´er — guess «gehs», verb, noun. –v.t. 1. to form an opinion of without really knowing; conjecture; estimate: »to guess the height of a tree, guess what will happen next. 2. to get right by guessing: »Can you guess the answer to that riddle? 3. to think …   Useful english dictionary

  • guess — guess·able; guess·er; guess·ing·ly; guess; guess·ti·mate; …   English syllables

  • Guess — Guess, v. i. To make a guess or random judgment; to conjecture; with at, about, etc. [1913 Webster] This is the place, as well as I may guess. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 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. [1913 Webster] A poet must confess His art s like physic but a happy… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • guess — [ges] vt., vi. [ME gessen, to judge, estimate, prob. < MDu, akin to Dan gisse, Swed gissa, ON geta: for IE base see GET] 1. to form a judgment or estimate of (something) without actual knowledge or enough facts for certainty; conjecture;… …   English World dictionary

  • guess — vb *conjecture, surmise Analogous words: speculate, *think, reason: imagine, fancy (see THINK): gather, *infer, deduce: estimate, reckon (see CALCULATE) guess n conjecture, surmise (see under …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • guess — [n] belief, speculation assumption, ballpark figure*, conclusion, conjecture, deduction, divination, estimate, fancy, feeling, guesstimate*, guesswork, hunch*, hypothesis, induction, inference, judgment, notion, opinion, postulate, postulation,… …   New thesaurus

  • guess — ► VERB 1) estimate or suppose (something) without sufficient information to be sure of being correct. 2) correctly estimate or conjecture. 3) (I guess) informal, chiefly N. Amer. I suppose. ► NOUN ▪ an estimate or conjecture. DERIVATIVES …   English terms dictionary

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