guess
[verb]
Synonyms:
- estimate, conjecture, hypothesize, predict, speculate, work out
- suppose, believe, conjecture, fancy, imagine, judge, reckon, suspect, think
[noun]
Synonyms:
- prediction, conjecture, hypothesis, shot in the dark, speculation, supposition, theory

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Related Idioms: venture a guess
Related Words: reason, speculate, deduce, estimate, reckon

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. guess¹ S1 W3 /ɡes/ verb
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language]

1. [intransitive and transitive] to try to answer a question or form an opinion when you are not sure whether you will be correct:
I’d say he’s around 50, but I’m only guessing.
guess right/correctly/wrong
If you guess correctly, you have another turn.
guess what/who/how etc
You can guess what happened next.
guess at
We can only guess at the cause of the crash.
What star sign are you? No, let me guess.
difficult/hard/easy etc to guess
It’s hard to guess his age because he dyes his hair.

2. [intransitive and transitive] to realize that something is true even though you do not know for certain
guess (that)
I guessed that you must be related because you look so similar.
guess from
I guessed from his expression that he already knew about the accident.
Can you guess the identity of this week’s special guest?

3. keep somebody guessing to make someone feel excited or not sure about what will happen next:
a thriller that keeps audiences guessing

4. I guess spoken
a) used to say that you think something is true or likely, although you are not sure:
His light’s on, so I guess he’s still up.
b) used to say that you will do something even though you do not really want to:
I’m tired, so I guess I’ll stay home tonight.

5. I guess so/not spoken used to agree or disagree with a statement or question:
‘You’re one lucky guy.’ ‘I guess so.’
‘I don’t really have any choice, do I?’ ‘I guess not.’

6. guess what/you’ll never guess who/what etc spoken used before you tell someone something that will surprise them:
Guess what! Bradley’s resigned.
You’ll never guess who I saw today.
⇒ second-guess

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. guess² S3 noun [countable]

1. an attempt to answer a question or make a judgement when you are not sure whether you will be correct:
I’d say she’s about 35, but that’s only a guess.

2. be anybody’s guess to be something that no one knows:
What she’s going to do with her life now is anybody’s guess.

3. your guess is as good as mine spoken used to tell someone that you do not know any more than they do about something

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

guess
noun
ADJ. fair, good, reasonable, safe April is the best guess for first deliveries.
calculated, educated, informed, inspired, intelligent As a vet, he could make an educated guess as to what was wrong with his stomach.
rough, wild At a rough guess, I'd say we're about twenty miles from home.
lucky ‘How did you know?’‘It was just a lucky guess.’
VERB + GUESS have, hazard, make, take If you don't know the answer, have a guess. If I might hazard a guess …
give sb ‘Where's Tom?’ ‘I'll give you three guesses!’ (= the answer is fairly obvious and you should guess it easily)
PREP. at a ~ At a guess, I'd say there's a problem with the fuel pump.
~ about/as to/at He made a wild guess as to how much the piano might cost.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

guess
verb
ADV. correctly, right | incorrectly, wrong Jane had guessed wrong about who was responsible for the fire.
never You'll never guess what she told me.
VERB + GUESS can/could Can you guess his age?
can only We can only guess how fast a dinosaur might have run.
try to | be easy to, not be difficult to, not be hard to It's not hard to guess where they went.
PREP. at I was only guessing at her age.
from She guessed from his expression that he had not won.
PHRASES could/might/should have guessed So it was Rob who broke the window? I might have guessed!
let me guess What star sign are you? No, let me guess.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

guess

make a guess
I didn't know the answer to question 7, so I just had to make a guess.
have a guess British English, take a guess AmE:
Go on, have a guess at how much it cost.
Take a guess. How many people do you think showed up?
hazard a guess (=guess something, when you feel very uncertain)
No one at this stage is prepared to hazard a guess about the outcome of the elections.
a rough guess (=one that is not exact)
This is just a rough guess, but I think it would cost about $50.
a wild guess (=one made without much thought or information)
I made a wild guess and I got the answer right first time.
a lucky guess
‘How did you know?’ ‘It was just a lucky guess.’
a good guess (=one that is likely to be right)
I'm not sure how old she is, but I can make a good guess!
sb’s best guess (=one that you think is most likely to be right)
My best guess is that it will take around six months.
an educated/informed guess (=a guess based on things that you know are correct)
Stockbrokers try to make educated guesses as to which stocks will do well.
an intelligent guess
Analysis of the archaeological site will help us make an intelligent guess as to what it was used for.
an inspired guess (=a very good guess that you make suddenly)
It’s hard to believe he got that right with just an inspired guess.
my guess is (that)
My guess is there won’t be many people there.
at a guess British English (=used when saying that you are making a guess)
I'd say it was built around the turn of the century, at a guess.
I’ll give you three guesses (=used to tell someone that it should be easy for them to guess the answer to their question)
‘Where is he?’ ‘I’ll give you three guesses.’

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲