estimate
1 of 2verb
es·ti·mate ˈe-stə-ˌmāt 
estimated; estimating
transitive verb
1
a
: to judge tentatively or approximately the value, worth, or significance of
b
: to determine roughly the size, extent, or nature of
c
: to produce a statement of the approximate cost of
2
: judge, conclude
3
archaic
a
: esteem
b
: appraise
estimative
ˈe-stə-ˌmā-tiv
adjective estimate
2 of 2noun
es·ti·mate ˈe-stə-mət
1
a
: a rough or approximate calculation
b
: a numerical value obtained from a statistical sample and assigned to a population parameter
2
: a statement of the cost of work to be done
3
: an opinion or judgment of the nature, character, or quality of a person or thing
had a high estimate of his abilities
4
: the act of appraising or valuing : calculation
Synonyms
Verb
- appraise
- assess
- evaluate
- guesstimate
- rate
- set
- valuate
- value
Noun
- appraisal
- appraisement
- assessment
- estimation
- evaluation
- reckoning
- valuation
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb They estimated the distance at about three miles. We need to estimate how much paint we'll need for the job. The cost of the project has been estimated at about 10 million dollars. He estimates that current oil reserves are 20 percent lower than they were a year ago. Noun According to government estimates, current oil reserves are 10 percent lower than they were a year ago. One conservative estimate is that he stole five million dollars. We solicited several estimates for the project. The contractor's estimate for the job seemed high. The company's products are, by general estimate, poorly made. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Lee Billings, Scientific American, 6 Sep. 2022 Knowing the Defense Department was misjudging inflation, all four defense committees on Capitol Hill were left to estimate their own inflation numbers. John Ferrari, WSJ, 5 Sep. 2022 And while there are ways to use computer software to estimate a profile view from a front-facing image, using this software adds complexity to the process of creating the deepfake. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2022 The bill itself does not lay out how companies ought to estimate the age of child users. WIRED, 3 Sep. 2022 In a recent preprint study, published ahead of peer review, scientists tried to estimate this with a meta-analysis, or a study of studies. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 1 Sep. 2022 Battery life in vehicles is difficult to estimate, expert says The type of battery in the Volt usually lasts about a decade, Siegel said. Chris Mueller, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2022 Given that equilibrium line position, the researchers then apply the geometry of glacial ice to estimate the volume of ice that would disappear to bring the ice sheet into balance with its new climate. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2022 There are also remote sensing approaches that can verify certain farming practices and then use modeling to estimate soil carbon. Steven Savage, Forbes, 26 Aug. 2022 Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Sep. 2022 Its 20-inch wheels give this version an EPA range estimate of 248 miles (400 km). Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 31 Aug. 2022 Levy, a sports and hospitality caterer whose other clients include English Premier League soccer clubs, did not give an estimate of lost revenue. Ken Maguire, ajc, 28 Aug. 2022 Get an estimate of your future panel's performance at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s website, pvwatts.nrel.gov. Beck Andrew Salgado, Journal Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2022 Rodriguez did not provide an estimate of how many people who should have been released from the jail were kept locked up because of the shutdown. James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2022 In the end, the model spits out an estimate of how many points, rebounds, assists, and so on each player is likely to have on a per-minute basis. Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Aug. 2022 The company provides an estimate of Scope 3 emissions of 650 million tons for 2020 but there is no discussion about what the company is doing with its customers to help reduce them. Robert G. Eccles, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 The company expects earnings-per-share to fall in a range of $7.10 to $7.40 for the full year, down from a previous estimate of $7.80 to $8.20. Sarah Nassauer, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2022 See More
Verb
Opening the meeting, Drake unveiled an equation to estimate the number of detectable civilizations in the Milky Way. Lee Billings, Scientific American, 6 Sep. 2022 Knowing the Defense Department was misjudging inflation, all four defense committees on Capitol Hill were left to estimate their own inflation numbers. John Ferrari, WSJ, 5 Sep. 2022 And while there are ways to use computer software to estimate a profile view from a front-facing image, using this software adds complexity to the process of creating the deepfake. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2022 The bill itself does not lay out how companies ought to estimate the age of child users. WIRED, 3 Sep. 2022 In a recent preprint study, published ahead of peer review, scientists tried to estimate this with a meta-analysis, or a study of studies. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 1 Sep. 2022 Battery life in vehicles is difficult to estimate, expert says The type of battery in the Volt usually lasts about a decade, Siegel said. Chris Mueller, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2022 Given that equilibrium line position, the researchers then apply the geometry of glacial ice to estimate the volume of ice that would disappear to bring the ice sheet into balance with its new climate. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2022 There are also remote sensing approaches that can verify certain farming practices and then use modeling to estimate soil carbon. Steven Savage, Forbes, 26 Aug. 2022 Noun
The governor’s office did not provide an estimate for a statewide total that would result from the discount. Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Sep. 2022 Its 20-inch wheels give this version an EPA range estimate of 248 miles (400 km). Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 31 Aug. 2022 Levy, a sports and hospitality caterer whose other clients include English Premier League soccer clubs, did not give an estimate of lost revenue. Ken Maguire, ajc, 28 Aug. 2022 Get an estimate of your future panel's performance at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s website, pvwatts.nrel.gov. Beck Andrew Salgado, Journal Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2022 Rodriguez did not provide an estimate of how many people who should have been released from the jail were kept locked up because of the shutdown. James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2022 In the end, the model spits out an estimate of how many points, rebounds, assists, and so on each player is likely to have on a per-minute basis. Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Aug. 2022 The company provides an estimate of Scope 3 emissions of 650 million tons for 2020 but there is no discussion about what the company is doing with its customers to help reduce them. Robert G. Eccles, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 The company expects earnings-per-share to fall in a range of $7.10 to $7.40 for the full year, down from a previous estimate of $7.80 to $8.20. Sarah Nassauer, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
Latin aestimatus, past participle of aestimare to value, estimate
First Known Use
Verb
circa 1532, in the meaning defined at sense 3a
Noun
1552, in the meaning defined at sense 4
Phrases Containing estimate
Kids Definition
estimate 1 of 2
verb
es·ti·mate ˈe-stə-ˌmāt
estimated; estimating
: to give or form a general idea of (as the value, size, or cost of something)
estimate
2 of 2noun
es·ti·mate ˈe-stə-mət
1
: an opinion or judgment especially of the value or quality of something
In my estimate, the product is poorly made.
2
: an approximation of the size or cost of something
estimate 1 of 2
verb
1
as in to value
to make an approximate or tentative judgment regarding experts estimated the value of the painting at a million dollars Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- value
- assess
- rate
- guesstimate
- evaluate
- appraise
- analyze
- set
- valuate
- ascertain
- determine
- price
- survey
- judge
- deem
- learn
- discover
- test
- adjudge
- underestimate
- assay
- prize
- decide
- reassess
- reevaluate
- reappraise
- misjudge
- revalue
- undervalue
- rejudge
- transvaluate
- transvalue
- settle
- misesteem
- misprize
2
as in to figure
to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement we estimated the snowfall to be about a foot Synonyms & Similar Words
- figure
- calculate
- guess
- suppose
- gauge
- make
- judge
- put
- reckon
- gage
- call
- conjecture
- place
- understand
- conclude
- extrapolate
- infer
- reason
- deduce
- gather
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- measure
- scale
- compute
- calibrate
- work out
estimate
2 of 2noun
1
as in estimation
the act of placing a value on the nature, character, or quality of something what we owe our war veterans is beyond estimate Synonyms & Similar Words
- estimation
- assessment
- appraisal
- evaluation
- calculation
- appraisement
- valuation
- examination
- reckoning
- measurement
- survey
- computation
- audit
- inspection
- review
- scan
- reassessment
- scrutiny
- overestimation
- mensuration
- underestimation
- checkup
- check
- transvaluation
- overevaluation
2
as in assessment
an opinion on the nature, character, or quality of something the estimate of many art specialists that the painting is a fake Synonyms & Similar Words
- assessment
- appraisal
- estimation
- evaluation
- appraisement
- impression
- perception
- judgment
- fix
- view
- belief
- judgement
- value judgment
- theory
- guess
- feeling
- notion
- hypothesis
- conviction
- surmise
- confidence
- conjecture
- trust
- stock
- sentiment
- mind
- aperçu
- faith
- hunch
- persuasion
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of estimate are appraise, assess, evaluate, rate, and value. While all these words mean "to judge something with respect to its worth or significance," estimate implies a judgment, considered or casual, that precedes or takes the place of actual measuring or counting or testing out.
estimated the crowd at two hundred
The words appraise and estimate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, appraise commonly implies the fixing by an expert of the monetary worth of a thing, but it may be used of any critical judgment.
having their house appraised
While the synonyms assess and estimate are close in meaning, assess implies a critical appraisal for the purpose of understanding or interpreting, or as a guide in taking action.
officials are trying to assess the damage
While in some cases nearly identical to estimate, evaluate suggests an attempt to determine relative or intrinsic worth in terms other than monetary.
evaluate a student's work
Rate adds to estimate the notion of placing a thing according to a scale of values.
a highly rated restaurant
Value equals appraise but without implying expertness of judgment.
a watercolor valued by the donor at $500