estimation

Everyday

1. An estimation is a careful guess of a number or amount, made without counting or measuring exactly. tree →
2. Estimation is the skill or act of making such guesses. tree →
3. (formal) Your estimation of someone is your opinion of them: «She went up in my estimation». tree →

In the lessons

In maths, estimation means rounding numbers to check whether an answer is sensible, or guessing how many sweets are in a jar or how long a line is. In science, you estimate before measuring. In everyday life, «go up / down in someone's estimation» means they think better or worse of you. Phrases: «a rough estimation», «in my estimation», «go up in someone's estimation».

Examples

• My estimation was 50 sweets, and there were 47. tree →
• Use estimation to check your answer: 298 + 403 is about 700. tree →
• Estimation is useful when you don't have a ruler. tree →
• A rough estimation of the crowd was ten thousand people. tree →
• In my estimation, the film was too long. tree →
• He went up in my estimation when he helped the new boy. tree →
• Our estimation of the journey time was wrong because of traffic. tree →

Note

In maths, an estimation is not the exact answer; the sign ≈ means «approximately». Round first (298 ≈ 300) and then calculate. «Estimate» (noun and verb) is more common: «make an estimate». Countable or uncountable.