second-guess
/ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/
"second-guess" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“second-guess” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.
Corpus desk
Index EN-second-guess · second-guess · English
second-guess · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | second-guess |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “second-guess” in English
Rare enough to double-check
second-guess is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for second-guess, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: A back-formation from second guesser, originally from baseball. First use appears c. 1941. The correct English form is second-guess, spelled S-E-C-O-N-D---G-U-E-S-S.
Definition
- 1To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.
- 2To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how second-guess appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Please don't try to second-guess the procedure that we have already refined and adopted.
Once she began listening to her instincts and didn't second-guess herself the entire time, her artwork improved noticeably.
Etymology
A back-formation from second guesser, originally from baseball. First use appears c. 1941.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.