expect

American  

[ik-spekt] / ɪkˈspɛkt /

verb (used with object)

• expects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• expected,
  past participle,  past
• expecting
  present participle

1. to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of.

   I expect to read it. I expect him later. She expects that they will come.

2. to look for with reason or justification.

   We expect obedience.

3. Informal. to suppose or surmise; guess.

   I expect that you are tired from the trip.

4. to anticipate the birth of (one's child).

   Paul and Sylvia expect their second very soon.

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idioms

1. be expecting, to be pregnant.

   The cat is expecting again.

expect British  

/ ɪkˈspɛkt /

verb

1. to regard as probable or likely; anticipate

   he expects to win

2. to look forward to or be waiting for

   we expect good news today

3. to decide that (something) is requisite or necessary; require

   the boss expects us to work late today

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expect More Idioms  

1. see when least expected.

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Usage

This sense of expect ( I expect you went with them. I expect you want to leave now. ) is encountered in the speech of educated people but seldom in their writing.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• expectedness
  noun
• expecter
  noun
• overexpect
  verb
• preexpect
  verb (used with object)
• expectable
  adjective
• unexpectable
  adjective
• unexpecting
  adjective
• expectably
  adverb
• expectedly
  adverb
• expectingly
  adverb
• unexpectably
  adverb
• unexpectingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• expecting
  present
• expected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• expect
  simple
• expects
  simple
• have expected
  perfect
• has expected
  perfect
• am expecting
  progressive
• are expecting
  progressive
• is expecting
  progressive
• have been expecting
  perfect progressive
• has been expecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• expected
  simple
• had expected
  perfect
• was expecting
  progressive
• were expecting
  progressive
• had been expecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will expect
  simple
• will have expected
  perfect
• will be expecting
  progressive
• will have been expecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of expect

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin ex(s)pectāre “to look out for, await,” equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + spectāre “to look at,” frequentative of specere; see spectacle

Explanation

If you expect something, you think it’s going to happen. If you got up at 4 in the morning, you can expect to fall asleep earlier than usual tonight. If you expect (or anticipate) something, you are fairly sure that it is coming, though you might not be totally certain. You might expect to graduate from a certificate program on time, barring unforeseen events that prevent you from going to class. If you say, simply, “I’m expecting,” people will assume you’re pregnant. Someone disappointed in you might shake his head and say, "I expected more from you."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

expect expects expected expecting

But it also may do so in dollar signs: Sotheby’s says it’s poised to set an auction record for Cassatt; they expect it to break $10 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

I expect Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall and Ben White to be staking a claim in the full-back positions.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Is it too much to expect his sister to help?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

“Based on the data we have, we continued to gain share and we expect sales in each of the three countries in which we operate to accelerate in the new fiscal year,” Daniele said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

“Don’t you dare expect me to feel sorry for them,” Mutti said, not so threatening towards him as she had been, but still angry at him.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius on Tuesday said he expects another rate hike at the conclusion of the Fed’s October meeting in five weeks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

It’s not necessarily a perspective one expects to be accompanied by the kind of scorching guitar riffs adorning “Date Night.”

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

The bank expects recovering supply from the Middle East and a ramp-up in Indonesia to outpace relatively soft demand, resulting in a forecasted global surplus of more than 800,000 tons in 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Andy Burnham said he expects to find "common ground" with Donald Trump at the pair's first face-to-face meeting on Tuesday.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

In Narnia, no one expects you to sing in front of hundreds of people like it’s no big deal.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

His Las Vegas residency at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas is expected to proceed as planned, starting Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

IonQ is accepting orders for customer deliveries in 2027, while Quantinuum is expected to launch Sol in 2027.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Analysts, however, say the deal isn’t expected to reduce prices soon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The team considers the impact origin essentially confirmed, although a Meteoritical Society committee is expected to provide formal recognition when it next meets.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

At least my cousin is older than I expected.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

However, no one appears to be expecting major breakthroughs, given the lack of confirmation for formal talks with Iran during the event.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Claire Boyle is expecting a third child and her first two children were born in Daisy Hill.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Bourdeaux said she’s not expecting much on that front, noting the Trump administration has failed to put out a traditional budget proposal with detailed projections.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026

There was also another complication for consumers expecting professionally carved chocolate: Packaging included in the court’s opinion labels the jack-o’-lantern image a “DECORATING SUGGESTION.”

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

I was expecting a tall, godlike creature, not even human.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Related Words

• await
• forecast
• foresee
• hope
• predict
• suppose
• take
• think