guess

verb

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\ ˈges

guessed; guessing; guesses

Definition of guess

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to form an opinion of from little or no evidence She could only guess what he meant.

2 : believe, suppose I guess you're right

3 : to arrive at a correct conclusion about by conjecture, chance, or intuition guess the answer

intransitive verb

: to make a guess We can only guess at what really happened.

guess

noun

Definition of guess (Entry 2 of 2)

: conjecture, surmise I don't know how old you are, but I'll venture a guess.

Other Words from guess Synonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing guess Learn More About guess

Examples of guess in a Sentence

Verb Can you guess how many people were there? He guessed that it would rain today. It was colder and windier than I had guessed it would be. She can only guess what he meant. I had to choose one, and I guessed right. If you can't think of an answer, guess. “I just heard why he left her.” “Let me guess—another woman.” As you might have guessed, her parents are not happy about her decision. We can only guess at what really happened. She guessed my age on her first try. Noun I'm not sure how old he is, but I'm willing to hazard a guess. My guess is that he'll change his story when he realizes how much trouble he's in. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb If the player does not guess the artist correctly after four attempts, the name is revealed. — Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes, 20 May 2022 And the differences serve as a reminder that while baseball statistics feel set in stone, there is more variation to them than many would guess, mostly because of a predictable factor: human error. — Benjamin Hoffman, New York Times, 19 May 2022 Your best guess for the biggest rookie impact this year? — Terry Pluto, cleveland, 18 May 2022 The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are indisputably the NBA's gold standard, having won 17 league titles apiece, but guess which franchise is next on the list? — Mark Faller, The Arizona Republic, 17 May 2022 Please do not second-guess or punish yourself for protecting yourself. — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 16 May 2022 Enlarge / Bullseyes and Close Calls is a classic code-breaking game, where players must guess their opponent's secret number before their opponent does. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 6 Apr. 2022 And don’t use questions with a limited number of responses that attackers can easily guess — like the color of your first car. — Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, 6 May 2022 Some people use weak passwords that hackers can easily crack or guess. — Chris Smith, BGR, 3 May 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun My guess is most Browns fans are already sick of the Deshaun Watson case. — Terry Pluto, cleveland, 22 May 2022 My guess is that eventually IBM will transition most of its processors to Eagles. — Paul Smith-goodson, Forbes, 18 May 2022 My guess is a similar proposal could lead to some leeway for Oakwood if submitted and passed. — Ben Thomas | Bthomas@al.com, al, 6 May 2022 Cox said his guess is that when the final decision is rendered, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey will be overturned. — Dale Ellis, Arkansas Online, 4 May 2022 Our guess is that the leak is likely to backfire at the Court. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 May 2022 But my guess is yes, and that Chapek will be out within a year. — David Meyer, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2022 Trevor Houser, a partner at the Rhodium Group, a research firm, said his guess is that emissions may trend lower — for the wrong reasons. — NBC News, 21 Apr. 2022 My guess is no better than most readers here, but the shift of content to streaming platforms has obviously been the big industry story these past 10 years. — Peter Caranicas, Variety, 20 Apr. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guess.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.