guesswork

«guesswork» in Mova's school dictionary: Finding an answer by guessing, without enough facts or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (guesswork — uncountable)

meaning for a pupil

Finding an answer by guessing, without enough facts or careful working out. tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths and science lessons teachers say «show your working, not guesswork»: answers need reasons, measurements or calculations. In everyday life weather, cooking without a recipe or finding your way without a map may involve guesswork. Phrases: pure guesswork, a lot of guesswork, take the guesswork out of.

examples

• My answer was pure guesswork, but it was right! tree →
• A recipe takes the guesswork out of baking. tree →
• Science uses evidence, not guesswork. tree →
• Without a map, finding the path was guesswork. tree →
• The teacher said, «I want calculations, not guesswork.» tree →
• Weather forecasts used to involve much more guesswork. tree →

note

Uncountable: «a lot of guesswork», not «a guesswork». One word. Different from an estimate, which is a sensible guess based on facts.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «guesswork» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.