Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

guesstimate

/ˈɡɛs.tə.mət/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.00 in modern English

Syllables: guessti-mate
IPA: /ˈɡɛs.tə.mət/

14

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An estimate that is hardly any better than a guess, often because it is based on insufficient or unreliable data.

Informal

verb

To make a guesstimate.

Intransitive verb

verb

To make a guesstimate of a specific quantity.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Near-synonym: educated guess"
"I'm not sure how many people were at the festival. My best guesstimate is 50,000."

Etymology

Blend of guess + estimate.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɡɛs.tə.mət/

Usage

Inflected Forms

guesstimates (plural) guestimate (alternative) guesstimates (present, singular) guesstimating (participle, present) guesstimated (participle, past) guesstimated (past)

Derived Forms

guesstimative guesstimator misguesstimate overguesstimate underguesstimate

Frequently Paired Words

guesswork

Synonyms

educated guess guestimate

Questions

How do you pronounce guesstimate?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡɛs.tə.mət/.
What does guesstimate mean?: An estimate that is hardly any better than a guess, often because it is based on insufficient or unreliable data.
Where does guesstimate come from?: Blend of guess + estimate.

How to pronounce guesstimate

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “guesstimate”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɡɛs.tə.mət/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “guesstimate”.
Repeat and practice — Say “guesstimate” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.