expect
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.
to look for with reason or justification: We expect obedience.
Informal. to suppose or surmise; guess: I expect that you are tired from the trip.
to anticipate the birth of (one's child): Paul and Sylvia expect their second very soon.
Idioms about expect
be expecting, to be pregnant: The cat is expecting again.
Origin of expect
1usage note For expect
Other words from expect
- ex·pect·a·ble, adjective
- ex·pect·a·bly, adverb
- ex·pect·ed·ly, adverb
- ex·pect·ed·ness, noun
- ex·pect·er, noun
- ex·pect·ing·ly, adverb
- o·ver·ex·pect, verb
- pre·ex·pect, verb (used with object)
- un·ex·pect·a·ble, adjective
- un·ex·pect·a·bly, adverb
- un·ex·pect·ing, adjective
- un·ex·pect·ing·ly, adverb
Words Nearby expect
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use expect in a sentence
The resources were what you might expect: Dining room, a media center, a library, a TV room, a meeting room, a computer room.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside | Justin Rohrlich | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTPlus, expect outside players to take actions related to the conflict.
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead | Dean Obeidallah | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe relationships, and motivations of their chief participants, are as tangled and shady as you expect of the super-rich.
The Real-Life ‘Downton’ Millionairesses Who Changed Britain | Tim Teeman | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou expect soldiers of all ranks to understand the need to respect the chain of command, regardless of personal feelings.
The name that most Republicans seem both to expect and dread to consider running is Vito Fossella.
The Felon Who Wouldn’t Leave Congress | Ben Jacobs, David Freedlander | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
You speak with about as little reflection as we might expect from one of those children down there playing in the sand.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinWhy expect that extraordinary virtues should be in one person united, when one virtue makes a man extraordinary?
Pearls of Thought | Maturin M. BallouOr, if I escaped these dangers for a day or two, what could I expect but a miserable death of cold and hunger?
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan SwiftHe wrote a letter to Sir Hugh Wheeler warning the gallant old general that he might expect to be attacked forthwith.
The Red Year | Louis TracyI did not find the Aristocracy so remarkable for physical perfection and beauty as I had been taught to expect.
Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
British Dictionary definitions for expect
/ (ɪkˈspɛkt) /
to regard as probable or likely; anticipate: he expects to win
to look forward to or be waiting for: we expect good news today
to decide that (something) is requisite or necessary; require: the boss expects us to work late today
Origin of expect
1- See also expecting
Derived forms of expect
- expectable, adjective
- expectably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with expect
see when least expected.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse