guess

guess1 [ ges ] verb intransitive or transitive ***

to say or decide what you think is true, without being certain about it:

a contest to guess the weight of the pig

guess what/who/how etc.: Would anyone like to guess what this object is?

guess at: It's difficult even to guess at the figures.

guess something as something: He guessed her age as 14 or 15.

guess as to something: Scientists are really still guessing as to the true cause of ice ages.

guess (that): She guessed that it was about midday from the position of the sun.

guess correctly/right: Whoever guesses correctly will win two tickets to the show.

a. to be correct about something that you guess:

He had already guessed the answer.

Surely she would guess the truth.

guess (that): Tim guessed she was awake.

I expect you've guessed by now that I lost the fight.

guess something from something: She guessed from the noise that her brothers were home.

guess about: He wondered whether she knew or guessed about Amy.

not be hard to guess something: From his expression, it wasn't hard to guess what had happened.

I guess INFORMAL

used when you are saying something that you think is probably true or correct:

I guess (that): I guess I'll never be able to explain.

I guess not: So you won't be going there again? I guess not.

I guess so (=used for saying yes, but not very strongly): Were you happy with the result? Well, I guess so.

guess what SPOKEN

used for introducing what you want to tell someone, especially when you are pleased or excited about it:

Guess what! I won a trip to the Caribbean!

I/you/he etc. can only guess

used for emphasizing that something is not known, especially someone's feelings or the degree to which something is happening:

Why this approach failed, we can only guess.

guess what at: Melissa could only guess at what the child must be feeling.

I/you/she etc. would never guess SPOKEN

used for showing that you think something is not at all obvious:

Looking at her now you'd never guess she'd been so upset.

I'd never have guessed that they were married.

keep someone guessing

to deliberately not tell someone what is happening or what is going to happen

let me guess SPOKEN

used when you are going to say what you think is happening, instead of waiting for someone to tell you

I might have guessed

used for saying that you should have realized something

you can guess SPOKEN

used for saying that it is very obvious what happened or what is going to happen:

In a bar one night I met a girl, asked her out, and you can guess the rest.

you'll never guess SPOKEN

used for introducing something interesting or exciting that you want to tell someone:

you'll never guess who/what/how etc.: You'll never guess who I sat next to!

you've guessed it SPOKEN

used for saying that the bad thing someone expects is true or will happen:

The weather forecast for Thanksgiving, yes, you've guessed it! Wet and windy.

guess

guess 2 [ ges ] noun count **

the action of saying what you think is true or will happen, without being certain:

make/take a guess: Make a guess and then check it on your calculator.

guess at: Take a guess at what's behind this screen.

hazard a guess (=make a guess that will probably not be accurate): We can only hazard a guess at what happened.

guess as to: a guess as to the number of people who might come

rough guess (=one that is not expected to be accurate): A rough guess would be twenty.

wild guess (=one that is very unlikely to be accurate): OK, I'll make a wild guess, but I really don't know.

good/lucky/inspired guess: The researchers made several inspired guesses about how the brain works.

educated/informed guess (=one that is based on some knowledge): I could probably make an educated guess.

at a guess MAINLY SPOKEN

used for making it clear that what you are saying is a guess, and it is likely to not be correct

best guess

1. ) an opinion about the thing that is most likely to happen:

We don't have enough information even to give a best guess.

2. ) an opinion about the best thing that could happen:

Our best guess is that we'll be ready in two weeks.

I'll give you three guesses SPOKEN

used for saying that someone has to try and guess something, because you will not tell them, often because the answer is very obvious

my guess is (that) SPOKEN

used when you are saying what you think will happen, or what you think has happened

something is anyone's guess

used for saying that something is not known by anyone:

What this all means is anybody's guess.

It's anyone's guess who'll win the election.

your guess is as good as mine SPOKEN

used for telling someone that you know as little about something as they know