guess_2 noun – Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

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 Examples

• ‘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 Dictionary

adjective

• fair
• good
• reasonable
• …

verb + guess

• have
• hazard
• make
• …

guess + verb

• be correct
• be right

preposition

• at a guess
• guess about
• guess as to
• …

phrases

• somebody’s best guess
• a guess based on something

See full entry

Word Origin

Middle English: origin uncertain; perhaps from Dutch

gissen

, and probably related to

get

.