guesstimate

noun

guess·​ti·​mate ˈge-stə-mət How to pronounce guesstimate (audio)
: an estimate usually made without adequate information
guesstimate transitive verb

Examples of guesstimate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web So don’t put your faith in human-year guesstimates. Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 16 June 2023 And my guesstimate of 5 percent will be conservative for some states. Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 12 Sep. 2022 The production schedule has some elasticity in it, but Dodge's initial guesstimate calls for a mere 2000 examples to be produced. Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 20 July 2022 One early guesstimate located the heliopause as close as Jupiter. Tim Folger, Scientific American, 18 June 2022 When planting a crop, a Christmas tree farmer has to decide — or guesstimate — what varieties customers will want to buy almost a decade later when that crop is ready to be sold. Kori Rumore, chicagotribune.com, 25 Nov. 2021 Estimates are hard to come by, but one guesstimate is that the underground economy amounted to 11 - 12% of US GDP in 2018. Elizabeth Bauer, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2021 Goldman Sachs this week issued a more pessimistic economic forecast than previous predictions, shaving growth projections for this year from 5.7% to 5.6%, and lowering its 2022 guesstimate from 4.4% to 4%. Paul Begala, CNN, 12 Oct. 2021 This is just a projection, a guesstimate without having a grip on what the Guardians’ 26-man roster will look like. Joe Noga, cleveland, 7 Oct. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'guesstimate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

blend of guess and estimate

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of guesstimate was in 1923

Dictionary Entries Near guesstimate

Cite this Entry

“Guesstimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guesstimate. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

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