estimate

[ verb es-tuh-meyt; noun es-tuh-mit, -meyt ]
/ verb ˈɛs təˌmeɪt; noun ˈɛs tə mɪt, -ˌmeɪt /

verb (used with object), es·ti·mat·ed, es·ti·mat·ing.

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.
to form an opinion of; judge.

verb (used without object), es·ti·mat·ed, es·ti·mat·ing.

to make an estimate.

noun

an approximate judgment or calculation, as of the value, amount, time, size, or weight of something.
a judgment or opinion, as of the qualities of a person or thing.
a statement of the approximate charge for work to be done, submitted by a person or business firm ready to undertake the work.

Origin of estimate

1525–35; < Latin aestimātus, past participle of aestimāre to value, estimate; see -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM estimate

Words nearby estimate

esthetics, esthonia, esthonian, estienne, estimable, estimate, estimation, estimative, estimator, estipulate, estival

Example sentences from the Web for estimator

  • Mr. Reivers was a foreman for the company that my father was estimator for.

    The Snow-Burner |Henry Oyen

  • The estimator and his work; forms to use; general rules for estimating.

    The Uses of Italic |Frederick W. Hamilton

  • The Estimator of Destinies wheeled in his chair and cast a look of brotherly frankness into Ruggss eyes.

    Atlantic Narratives |Mary Antin

British Dictionary definitions for estimator (1 of 2)

estimator
/ (ˈɛstɪˌmeɪtə) /

noun

a person or thing that estimates
statistics a derived random variable that generates estimates of a parameter of a given distribution, such as ̄X, the mean of a number of identically distributed random variables X i . If ̄X is unbiased, ̄x, the observed value should be close to E (X i) See also sampling statistic

British Dictionary definitions for estimator (2 of 2)

estimate

verb (ˈɛstɪˌmeɪt)

to form an approximate idea of (distance, size, cost, etc); calculate roughly; gauge
(tr; may take a clause as object) to form an opinion about; judge to estimate one's chances
to submit (an approximate price) for (a job) to a prospective client
(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 (ˈɛstɪmɪt)

Derived forms of estimate

estimative, adjective

Word Origin for estimate

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