expectancy
Americannoun
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the quality or state of expecting; expectation; anticipatory belief or desire.
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the state of being expected.
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an object of expectation; something expected.
noun
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something expected, esp on the basis of a norm or average
his life expectancy was 30 years
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anticipation; expectation
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the prospect of a future interest or possession, esp in property
an estate in expectancy
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of expectancy
From the Medieval Latin word ex(s)pectantia, dating back to 1590–1600. See expectant, -ancy
Explanation
Expectancy is the state of thinking (or hoping) that something will happen. You can sense the expectancy in the crowd just before your favorite band takes the stage. Use this word to talk about a sense of anticipation, like your little brother's expectancy every year on his birthday that someone will throw him a surprise party. It's also used to mean "an expected amount," especially in the context of life expectancy, or the average length of a person's life: "Typically, women have a longer life expectancy than men do." Expectancy is from expect, from a Latin root meaning "look for."
Vocabulary lists containing expectancy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Average life expectancy, meanwhile, jumped from 51 years in 1960 to 77 years now—just two years below the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
He added the trust estimated the long-standing pair to be about 18 years old, with life expectancy for the birds being about 25 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Due to longer life expectancy and declining birth rates, the world is getting older — and that shift is changing how people live, work, spend and manage their money.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
The EU executive's Joint Research Centre said life expectancy at birth reached 81.5 years in 2024.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
“That poor family…Those pilots go up there day after day to fight off the German attacks. Did you hear that the average life expectancy for a Spitfire pilot is just four weeks?”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Although these populations tend to have some of the world's longest life expectancies, they also experience relatively high levels of frailty in old age.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
It’s been widely recognized for years that people with longer life expectancies buy annuities.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
Meanwhile, an annuity that starts paying out at age 67 would slightly favor those with lower balances and shorter life expectancies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2025
After the Great Depression, life expectancies increased alongside the percentage of older Americans living in poverty — by 1935, 50% of older adults were poor, and by 1940, almost two-thirds were poor.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2025
According to WHO, life expectancies in Cuba were about the same as in the United States.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
