"guess at" vs "guess about"

Question

"guess at" vs "guess about"

Both 'guess about' and 'guess at' are commonly used phrases in English, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'Guess about' is used when talking about the subject or topic of the guess, while 'guess at' is used when referring to the act of guessing itself.

Last Updated: March 21, 2024

Use 'guess at' when you want to refer to the act of guessing itself. For example, 'I can only guess at what the final decision will be.'

Examples:

I can only guess at his true feelings.
She tried to guess at the answer.
Let's guess at the number of jellybeans in the jar.
He's just guessing at the solution.
Can you guess at the time it will take to finish?

Alternatives:

speculate at
hypothesize at
conjecture at
estimate at
predict at

Use 'guess about' when you want to talk about the subject or topic of the guess. For example, 'Can you guess about what happened?'

Examples:

Can you guess about the outcome of the meeting?
I can only guess about his intentions.
She tried to guess about the answer.
Let's guess about the number of people who will attend.
I'm just guessing about the reasons behind his actions.

Alternatives:

speculate about
hypothesize about
conjecture about
estimate about
predict about

Answer 1

guess at

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English when referring to the act of guessing.

Answer 2

guess about

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English when referring to the subject or topic of the guess.

"guess at" vs "guess about"

guess at

guess about

Related Comparisons