- an attempt to give an answer or an opinion when you cannot be certain if you are right
- (British English) to have/make a guess
- (North American English) to take a guess
- Go on! Have a guess!
- If I might hazard a guess, I'd say she was about thirty.
- Who do you think I saw yesterday? I'll give you three guesses.
- They might be here by 3—but that's just a rough guess (= not exact).
- guess at something But this is clearly just a wild guess (= not sensible or accurate) at what his motives could have been.
- guess about something The article is based on guesses about what might happen in the future.
- guess as to something the market's best guess as to the possible performance of the company
- guess (that…) My guess is that we won't hear from him again.
- at a guess At a guess, there were forty people at the party.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumenta1, Doubt, guessing and certaintya1- ‘Where's Tom?’ ‘I'll give you three guesses!’
- April is a safe guess for first deliveries.
- At a guess, I'd say there's a problem with the fuel pump.
- At a rough guess, I'd say we're about twenty miles from home.
- He made a wild guess as to how much the piano might cost.
- If you don't know the answer, have a guess.
- What's your best guess on what's going to happen?
- a guess based on your experience
- It's probably about 300 kilometres away, but that's just a rough guess.
- My guess is that not many people will turn out today.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fair
- good
- reasonable
- …
- have
- hazard
- make
- …
- be correct
- be right
- at a guess
- guess about
- guess as to
- …
- somebody’s best guess
- a guess based on something
Word OriginMiddle English: origin uncertain; perhaps from Dutch gissen, and probably related to get.Definitions on the go
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Idioms
See guess in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee guess in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishanybody’s/anyone’s guess
- (informal) something that nobody can be certain about
- What will happen next is anybody's guess.
an educated guess
- a guess that is based on some degree of knowledge, and is therefore likely to be correct
- Let's make an educated guess.
Extra ExamplesTopics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2- As a vet, he could make an educated guess as to what was wrong with his stomach.
- She could make an educated guess as to what was wrong with him.
your guess is as good as mine
- (informal) used to tell somebody that you do not know any more about a subject than the person that you are talking to does
- ‘Who's going to win?’ ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’
miss your guess
- (North American English, informal) to make a mistake
- Unless I miss my guess, your computer needs a new hard drive.
- If you miss your guess, you lose 10 points.
Check pronunciation:
guess