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Definition of estimate in English:

estimate

Pronunciation /ˈestəˌmāt/ /ˈɛstəˌmeɪt/ /ˈestəmət/ /ˈɛstəmət/

See synonyms for estimate

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transitive verb

[with object]

  • Roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of.

    ‘the aim is to estimate the effects of macroeconomic policy on the economy’
    • ‘it is estimated that smoking causes 100,000 premature deaths every year’
    • ‘But which valuation methods are most suitable for estimating these external costs?’
    • ‘For that reason, estimating the net asset value can be a dangerous business.’
    • ‘The average mean dose of irradiation was six times the quantity estimated by the doctor.’
    • ‘Road accidents are estimated to cost the equivalent of seven billion pounds per year.’
    • ‘Much interior and exterior repair work has to be done, at a cost yet to be estimated.’
    • ‘It is imperative that companies understand their real costs when estimating a job.’
    • ‘One important clue comes from estimating the rate at which sediments were deposited.’
    • ‘Nor is there any suggestion that publishers are hopelessly inaccurate when estimating future sales.’
    • ‘The company recently won the account, which is conservatively estimated to be worth £6 million.’
    • ‘Experts estimate that between 70 % and 80 % of wireless networks are insecure.’
    • ‘Police experts estimated the bike could have achieved speeds of up to 70 mph.’
    • ‘Some researchers have estimated that obesity causes about 300,000 deaths in the U.S. annually.’
    • ‘Officials estimate that Britons alone lose £150 million a year to such frauds.’
    • ‘The mark-up of imports of U.S. goods through Dubai is estimated at twenty percent.’
    • ‘National wheat consumption is estimated at 131,000 tonnes and a further 1,500 tonnes is required for seed production.’
    • ‘Total manufacturing capacity is estimated at 500 tonnes a year.’
    • ‘Casualties on both sides are estimated at two million including half a million dead.’
    • ‘Migraine is estimated to account for 20 % of all absenteeism due to sickness.’
    • ‘The cost of the investment in these five projects is estimated at 60 million.’
    • ‘The estimated cost of producing electric power from anaerobic digestion of animal manure is 3.7 to 5.4 cents per kilowatt-hour.’
    roughly calculate, approximate, make an estimate of, guess, evaluate, judge, gauge, reckon, rate, appraise, form an opinion of, form an impression of, get the measure of, determine, weigh up
    consider, believe, guess, reckon, deem, hold, judge, adjudge, surmise, rate, gauge, take, suppose
    View synonyms

noun

  • 1An approximate calculation or judgment of the value, number, quantity, or extent of something.

    ‘at a rough estimate, our staff is recycling a quarter of the paper used’
    • ‘Current market estimates place values of more than €500 million on the airline.’
    • ‘Though such estimates may be of value for research or policy purposes, using them to scare the public cannot be considered legitimate.’
    • ‘Official estimates put the value of the conference to the Manchester economy at more than £2m.’
    • ‘Our estimate of that value may be incorrect, in fact it almost certainly is.’
    • ‘I must stress that this is only an estimate and not a calculation.’
    • ‘It includes cases studies of couples undergoing treatment as well as a rough estimate of costs.’
    • ‘In which case, a calculator and some rough estimates might help.’
    • ‘Some estimates put the value of 100GB of enterprise data at one million dollars.’
    • ‘Current estimates value the ISP at £340 million - half what it was estimated to be worth a year ago.’
    • ‘Of course, such calculations are estimates and are subject to many uncertainties.’
    • ‘This involves making an estimate of the value of the contract.’
    • ‘In practice, however, this doesn't yield accurate estimates of the graduation rate.’
    • ‘The $2.8 million is a conservative estimate based on records from the House and Senate clerks' offices.’
    • ‘Conservative estimates indicate that this could lead to a further 4,000 additional vacancies.’
    • ‘Reliable estimates of the prevalence of this condition are difficult to obtain because of the diversity of identifiable causes.’
    • ‘Last year's estimates put the cost of the project at $1.13 billion.’
    • ‘The most optimistic estimates predict less than half this number will actually turn out.’
    • ‘There was no estimate available from any source of the number of demonstrators.’
    • ‘Their estimates of the size of the impact, however, are probably excessive.’
    • ‘According to some estimates, the building society is worth more than €1 billion.’
    rough calculation, approximation, estimation, educated guess, informed guess, rough guess, impression
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    1. 1.1A written statement indicating the likely price that will be charged for specified work or repairs.
      ‘compare costs by getting estimates from at least two firms’
      • ‘The cost of simply getting a quote or estimate for its repair will likely amount to a fair percentage of the replacement cost.’
      • ‘They were told to get an estimate of the likely cost of ramps and bring it before parish councillors again.’
      • ‘He said the company carries out measurements for homes and provides estimates free of charge.’
      • ‘Merton Council, which owns the building, says it is getting estimates for its repair.’
      • ‘Mr Soady said the firm has submitted two estimates for repairs to Total and was now waiting for a reply.’
      • ‘It is important to remember that estimates are not written in a vacuum.’
      • ‘To prevent reorders and delays, they needed to be able to write accurate estimates.’
      • ‘Instead, from time to time, she obtained other estimates for repairing and making the house safe.’
      • ‘Whatever your final choice, be sure and get a detailed estimate in writing.’
      • ‘The estimate is too often viewed as a necessary administrative step to get sales.’
      rough calculation, approximation, estimation, educated guess, informed guess, rough guess, impression
      View synonyms
    2. 1.2A judgment of the worth or character of someone or something.
      ‘his high estimate of the poem’
      • ‘His real kindness was shown by genial estimates of character and liberal appreciation of the labours of others engaged in kindred studies.’
      • ‘It's how you make any sort of estimate of the character of a public figure.’
      • ‘They can only make fair estimates of their physical characteristics or their personality traits.’
      evaluation, estimation, judgement, gauging, rating, appraisal, opinion, view, analysis
      View synonyms

Origin

Late Middle English from Latin aestimat- ‘determined, appraised’, from the verb aestimare. The noun originally meant ‘intellectual ability, comprehension’ (only in late Middle English), later ‘valuing, a valuation’ (compare with estimation). The verb originally meant ‘to think well or badly of someone or something’ (late 15th century), later ‘regard as being, consider to be’ (compare with esteem).