underestimate
part of speech
verb (underestimate, underestimates, underestimated, underestimating); noun (an underestimate, underestimates)
meaning for a pupil
1) To underestimate means to guess that an amount, size or time is smaller than it really is: «I underestimated how long the walk would take.» tree →
2) To underestimate a person means to think they are less clever, strong or able than they really are. tree →
3) An underestimate (noun) is a guess that is too low. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths lessons on estimating and rounding, an underestimate is an estimate lower than the true answer; rounding down often gives one. In stories and sport, a strong team underestimates a small team and loses — a classic lesson. Phrases: «never underestimate», «underestimate someone», «a slight underestimate», «underestimate the danger».
examples
- I underestimated how many sweets were in the jar: I said 50 and there were 72. tree →
- Never underestimate a small dog! tree →
- The champions underestimated our team and lost 2–1. tree →
- Rounding 48 and 37 down to 40 and 30 gives an underestimate of their sum. tree →
- People often underestimate how cold the sea is in spring. tree →
- Don't underestimate the danger of swimming in a river. tree →
- 200 is an underestimate; the real number is 230. tree →
note
Verb stress: un-der-ES-ti-mate (last syllable «-mate»); noun: un-der-ES-ti-mut. Opposite: overestimate. Maths: an underestimate is less than the exact answer; rounding every number down gives an underestimate of a sum. Not the same as «underrate», which is only about people's or things' quality, though they overlap.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «underestimate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.