What does "guess" mean?

1. (to speculate) to try to give an answer or opinion when you do not have all the facts. 2. (to suppose or think) you use this when you think something is probably true or when you are making a decision. 3. (to find the right answer) to find the correct answer by chance or by thinking about it. 4. (an opinion without facts) an answer or opinion that you give when you are not sure if you are right.

guess — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01to speculate

A1 · Beginner

v. to try to give an answer or opinion when you do not have all the facts.

v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when one does not have sufficient information to be certain.

“I don't know how many people were there, but I would guess about fifty.”

“Economists can only guess at the long-term impact of the new policy until more data becomes available next quarter.”

Usage

Often used with 'at' when the object is a specific value or measurement.

Synonyms

estimate speculate conjecture

Antonyms

know verify

02to suppose or think

A2 · Elementary Informal

v. you use this when you think something is probably true or when you are making a decision.

v. to suppose or believe something to be the case; frequently used as a pragmatic marker of hesitant agreement or a tentative decision.

“I guess we should start heading home before it gets too dark.”

“I guess the meeting is over, seeing as everyone has already packed up their laptops and left the room.”

Usage

Commonly used in the first person ('I guess') to introduce a statement.

Teaching tip

In American English, 'I guess' is very common for expressing a likely truth; in British English, 'I suppose' is often preferred.

Synonyms

suppose reckon assume

03to find the right answer

B1 · Intermediate

v. to find the correct answer by chance or by thinking about it.

v. to succeed in discovering or identifying something correctly by conjecture.

“You guessed my password on the first try.”

“She managed to guess the weight of the cake exactly, winning the top prize at the village fair.”

Usage

Often used with 'right' or 'correctly'.

Synonyms

solve identify

Antonyms

missmisinterpret

04an opinion without facts

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. an answer or opinion that you give when you are not sure if you are right.

n. an estimate or conclusion formed without sufficient evidence or certain knowledge.

“If I had to make a guess, I'd say the train will be late again.”

“His calculation was little more than an educated guess based on last year's sales figures rather than current market trends.”

Usage

Commonly used in the phrase 'make a guess'.

Synonyms

estimate hunch prediction

Antonyms

fact certainty

“Is there a way to describe this process of guessing with limited information in a mathematically sensible way?”

New Scientist 6 Mar 2026

“A senior Bridgewater Associates LP executive was only making a guess that former employees used trade secrets to compete against the world's largest hedge fund firm, according to an arbitration ruling made public on Thursday that rejected the firm's claim.”

Reuters 16 Jul 2020

From Middle English gessen (verb) and Middle English gesse (noun), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Danish getse, gitse, getsa (“to guess”), from Old Norse getsa, gitsa, from Proto-Germanic gitisōną (“to guess”), from Proto-Germanic getaną (“to get”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to take, seize”). Cognate with Danish gisne (“to guess”), Norwegian gissa, gjette (“to guess”), Swedish gissa (“to guess”), Saterland Frisian gisje (“to guess”), Dutch gissen (“to guess”), Low German gissen (“to guess”), Dutch gis (“a guess”). Related also to Icelandic giska ("to guess"; from Proto-Germanic *gitiskōną). Compare also Russian гада́ть (gadátʹ, “to conjecture, guess, divine”), Albanian gjëzë (“riddle”) from gjej (“find, recover, obtain”). More at get.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

guess(A1)

NOUN

guessing(B1)

guesswork(B2)

get knowledge