guess

CEFRA1

/ɡɛs/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To give an answer without being sure it is correct.

  2. 02

    noun

    An answer or opinion based on little information.

Examples

  • I can only guess that they don't want to alarm the public yet.

  • You can probably guess what happens though.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly.

  2. To suppose, to imagine (introducing a proposition of uncertain plausibility).

  3. To reach a partly (or totally) unconfirmed conclusion; to engage in conjecture; to speculate.

More examples

In context

  • Your guess is entirely off the mark.

  • He who guesses the riddle shall have the ring.

  • She guessed that the delivery driver must have got stuck in traffic.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Without any clues, he could only blank the number of marbles in the jar.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English gessen (verb) and Middle English gesse (noun), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Danish getse, gitse, getsa (“to guess”), from Old Norse *getsa, *gitsa, from Proto-Germanic *gitisōną (“to guess”), from Proto-Germanic *getaną (“to get”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to take, seize”). Cognate with Danish gisne (“to guess”), Norwegian gissa, gjette (“to guess”), Swedish gissa (“to guess”), Saterland Frisian gisje (“to guess”), Dutch gissen (“to guess”), Low German gissen (“to guess”), Dutch gis (“a guess”). Related also to Icelandic giska ("to guess"; from Proto-Germanic *gitiskōną). Compare also Russian гада́ть (gadátʹ, “to conjecture, guess, divine”), Alban...