Phrase guide

guess what

phrase · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

phrase

Meaning 1

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see guess, what.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

phrase

Meaning 2

Used to introduce a surprising outcome or one that the hearer is not expected to try to guess.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Qualifier: by ellipsis; rhetoric question; by ellipsis; rhetoric question

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

phrase

Meaning 3

Used to dramatize the introduction of an unsurprising outcome.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • I've only had two job interviews and – guess what – no job offers.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Perhaps an ellipsis of "(can you) guess what I am about to say/what happened next?"

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 你猜怎麽着 (nǐ cāi zěnme zhe) — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Dutch: raad eens — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Finnish: arvaa mitä — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • French: devine quoi — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • French: je te le donne en mille — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • German: rate mal — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Italian: indovina — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Low German: raad mal — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Polish: wiesz co — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Portuguese: adivinha — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Portuguese: adivinha só — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Romanian: ghici ce — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Russian: прикинь (prikinʹ) — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Spanish: adivina qué — used to dramatize the unsurprising
  • Swedish: gissa vad — used to dramatize the unsurprising