Does the word "guesstimate" really mean something different than the word "estimate"?

I think people usually use ‘estimate’ to mean an educated guess, where ‘guesstimate’ is used for guesses that aren’t really educated at all.

And is that Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Hot.

What soundedfury said.

To me, someone saying guesstimate indicates an estimate made by someone who wants to use a buzzword.

I agree with sound. A guestimate is an “estimate” without any real information to back it up. An actual estimate has reasoning behind the guess or approximation.

i agree with wildflower. my girlfriend responded the same way as soundedfury, i.e. that a guesstimate is basically a crappy estimation. but isn’t that the very nature of an estimation—that it might be incorrect or uninformed? when won’t an estimation be educated or informed? if i ask you “how much does a mountain weigh?” the number you give me probably won’t be anywhere close to the real weight, but you nonetheless use information you have learned through empirical observations of the world. e.g. you know about how much a rock weighs, that mountains are made of rock and that mountains are big. so isn’t this just an estimation, even if it’s a bad one?

Usually when I give an answer to somone I won’t call it an “estimation” unless I have facts to support it. Otherwise it is just a random guess, and nothing more.

OK, in my (Mac OS X) dictionary, it says:
Estimate: roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of
Guesstimate: an estimate based on a mixture of guesswork and calculation.
So, really, they seem quite inter-changeable to me and personally I associate ‘guesstimate’ with buzzwords…

An estimate infers that you are making a guess based on the best possible data. A mechanic estimates it will take 3 hours to fix your car based on what he knows, but that estimation may change if new info becomes available.

In your analogy, we could estimate the weight of a particular mountain based on it’s approximate size and the make-up of its rocks, but it’s still based on evidence and data.

A guess (and a guesstimate) infers that you simply don’t have the data you would want to make an estimate. If someone asked me to estimate how long it would take to debug this problem I’m working on right now, I would have to guess because I have no idea what is causing it in the first place.

Estimate – smaller margin of error
Guesstimate – large margin of error

Guesstimate is just a cute way of saying estimate. There is no difference. I would say the word was coined by the anchor of a local news show in a town the size of one of the Quad cities.

If someone has expertise in something, i.e. a plumber & he gives you his best guess based upon his experience, it is a guestimate. When he begins to actually price parts & labor & gives you something in writing based upon some fact then it is an estimate. You realize how knowledgeable people are in their respective trades when their guess is close to the estimate.

Or, a guesstimate included assumptions, & an estimate has investigated the known variables to determine an answer.

i see where you’re coming from sounded, but when it’s a large error margin, why don’t we call it a rough estimate, or bad estimate or really rough estimate etc. ...no matter how large the margin of error, isn’t it still an estimate? on the other hand, if your totally clueless, e.g. your debugging situation or “is the prize behind door number 1, 2, or 3?” doesn’t it simply become a guess.

in my estimation, there’s just no room for guesstimation.

I think what happens is that impatient people want an answer right, NOW. I think a guestimate is a way to satisfy some individuals need for an immediate answer while communicating that the answer will become more concrete & formal with more time and exploration

I’m an accountant & I do some forensic work and I encounter this quite a bit. Especially, if the owner of a company suspects theft. Unfortunately, after a 10 minute look I can only give them my best guess. Guesstimation is just another way of saying best guess with no real data. (I think someone else phrased it this way) But it gets people off your back and allows you the time you need to give them a good estimate.

I think every one should stop guessing the answer…
noun
1 guesstimate, guestimate
-an estimate that combines reasoning with guessing.

Its simply an estimate but from someone who is guessing with some prior experience/ knowledge involved. It has a place in American English.