guessing
n. · v.-
1 the act of making a guess (n.) B1 Intermediatethe act of trying to give an answer or an opinion when you are not sure if you are right.
the process of making a conjecture or estimate without sufficient information for certainty.
ExampleAfter a lot of guessing, we finally found the right key for the door.
ExampleThe final figure was the result of educated guessing rather than precise calculation, as the primary data sources were incomplete.
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2 making a guess now (v.) A2 Elementarythe form of the verb 'guess' used for actions happening now or for describing a process.
the present participle of 'guess', used in continuous tenses to indicate the ongoing act of conjecture.
ExampleStop guessing and just look at the map to see where we are.
ExampleThe analysts were still guessing at the potential market impact when the official announcement rendered their speculations moot.
UsageUsed with the verb 'to be' to form continuous tenses.
From Middle English gessyng, gessynge, equivalent to guess + -ing.
From Middle English gessyng, equivalent to guess + -ing.