Meaning & use
estimate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To work out roughly how large, how much or how long something is, without knowing the exact figure.
Grammar: Takes an object or a wh-clause; the noun form is pronounced differently, with a weak ending.
Patterns
- estimate something at something
- estimate that something
- estimate how much something
Engineers estimate that the bridge will take two years to build.
I would estimate the crowd at about ten thousand.
It is hard to estimate how many birds live on the island.
nouncountable
A rough calculation of an amount, size, cost or value, based on the information available.
Grammar: Countable noun: a rough estimate, two estimates. The final syllable is a weak vowel, not a long a.
Patterns
- an estimate of something
- an estimate for something
- by some estimates
The official estimate of the damage was five million dollars.
My estimate is that the trip will take about four hours.
By some estimates, the town's population has doubled in a decade.
nouncountablebusiness
A written statement from a builder or business of what a job will probably cost.
Grammar: Used in trade; an estimate is not always final, unlike a fixed quote.
Patterns
- an estimate for something
- get an estimate
We asked three builders for an estimate for the new roof.
The garage gave me a written estimate before starting the repair.
Word forms
| third person singular | estimates |
|---|---|
| past tense | estimated |
| past participle | estimated |
| -ing form | estimating |
| plural | estimates |
Common combinations
- a rough estimate
- Give me a rough estimate of the cost, and we can decide later.
- a conservative estimate
- At a conservative estimate, the repairs will cost ten thousand dollars.
- estimate the cost
- The architect will estimate the cost of the extension.
- estimated at
- The project was estimated at two million dollars.
- get an estimate
- Before choosing a plumber, get an estimate from at least two.
- by some estimates
- By some estimates, there are more than a million species of insects.
Synonyms and how they differ
- approximate
- Approximate as a verb means to come close to a figure, and is more formal and mathematical than estimate.
- guess
- A guess has little or no evidence behind it, whereas an estimate is based on reasoning from facts.
- reckon
- Reckon is informal and mainly British, and often means think or suppose as well as calculate.
- assess
- Assess means to judge the value or quality of something, not only its size or cost, and sounds more careful.
Word family
- estimation noun
- the act of estimating, or a judgment of worth
- estimated adjective
- calculated roughly rather than known exactly
- estimator noun
- a person who calculates costs
- underestimate verb
- to judge something to be smaller or less important than it is
- overestimate verb
- to judge something to be bigger or better than it is
Commonly confused: estimate or quote?
estimate vs quote
A quote or quotation is a fixed price a business agrees to charge, whereas an estimate is only an approximate price that may change.
Practice
The builder said the job would cost about $4,000 but warned the figure could change. What did he give her?
Choose one answer.
An estimate is an approximate price that may change. A fixed quote would be binding, and a receipt only records a payment already made.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “estimate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.