estimate

[ verb es-tuh-meyt; noun es-tuh-mit, -meyt ]

verb (used with object)

, es·ti·mat·ed, es·ti·mat·ing.

1. to form an approximate judgment or opinion regarding the worth, amount, size, weight, etc., of; calculate approximately:

   to estimate the cost of a college education.

   Synonyms: count, compute, appraise, evaluate, value, assess, gauge, reckon

2. to form an opinion of; judge.

verb (used without object)

, es·ti·mat·ed, es·ti·mat·ing.

1. to make an estimate.

noun

1. an approximate judgment or calculation, as of the value, amount, time, size, or weight of something.

   Synonyms: appraisal, calculation, valuation

2. a judgment or opinion, as of the qualities of a person or thing.
3. a statement of the approximate charge for work to be done, submitted by a person or business firm ready to undertake the work.

estimate

verb

1. to form an approximate idea of (distance, size, cost, etc); calculate roughly; gauge
2. tr; may take a clause as object to form an opinion about; judge

   to estimate one's chances

3. to submit (an approximate price) for (a job) to a prospective client
4. See estimator
   tr statistics to assign a value (a point estimate ) or range of values (an interval estimate ) to a parameter of a population on the basis of sampling statistics See estimator

noun

1. an approximate calculation
2. a statement indicating the likely charge for or cost of certain work
3. a judgment; appraisal; opinion

Derived Forms

• ˈestimative, adjective

Other Words From

• esti·mating·ly adverb
• esti·mator noun
• pre·esti·mate verb (used with object) preestimated preestimating
• pre·esti·mate noun
• re·esti·mate verb (used with object) reestimated reestimating
• re·esti·mate noun
• self-esti·mate noun
• un·esti·mated adjective
• well-esti·mated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of estimate¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin aestimātus “valued,” past participle of aestimāre “to value, fix the value of”

Word History and Origins

Origin of estimate¹

C16: from Latin aestimāre to assess the worth of, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

These are definitely just estimates, but still, that’s pretty damn good!

From Vox

Though reach estimates aren’t available for mobile apps and places now.

From Search Engine Land

A more thorough analysis would dramatically lower the cost estimate and limit the work needed and the time needed to complete it, Shapery argues.

From Voice of San Diego

An objective and thorough analysis would have produced a much more limited scope of work recommendation, and a dramatically lower cost estimate.

From Voice of San Diego

Best estimates suggest that 10 to 20 percent of students lacked access to devices such as tablets or computers, the internet or both, during the spring shift to online instruction.

From Science News

Should capability delivery experience additional changes, this estimate will be revised appropriately.

From The Daily Beast

There have been at least 50 cases similar to the bathhouse raid in the last 18 months, human-rights groups estimate.

From The Daily Beast

Just a month from that date, he now no longer believes that to be realistic, and will no longer estimate a timeline for the trial.

From The Daily Beast

Experts we spoke with said this is a glaring caveat that makes it difficult to create a national estimate from the results.

From The Daily Beast

While difficult to estimate exact numbers, thousands of Americans die every year because of delayed or denied claims.

From The Daily Beast

As company after company appeared, we were able to form a pretty exact estimate of their numbers.

From Project Gutenberg

It is impossible to form a just estimate of the Bible without some knowledge of ancient history and comparative mythology.

From Project Gutenberg

It is difficult to over-estimate the harm that has been done to public policy by this same Malthusian theory.

From Project Gutenberg

Without a knowledge of this it is self-evident that no practical estimate of expense to be incurred could possibly be made.

From Project Gutenberg

The funds assigned some years before for the support of the civil list had fallen short of the estimate.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• appraisal
• assessment
• conclusion
• estimation
• evaluation
• guess
• measure
• measurement
• opinion
• projection
• rating
• survey
• valuation