Etymology

second-guess

Today it means: To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc. Full definition →

Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

A back-formation from second guesser, originally from baseball. First use appears c. 1941.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.