supposed to
Idioms-
Intended to; also, believed to, expected to. For example, This pill is supposed to relieve your pain , or You're supposed to be my partner . [Early 1300s]
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Required to, as in He is supposed to call home . [Mid-1800s]
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not supposed to . Not permitted to, as in You're not supposed to smoke in here .
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.
What was supposed to simplify dinner can turn it into another administrative process requiring a charged device and a willingness to look at it.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
They were also supposed to draft new member education plans with Cornell’s vice president of student life, and employ live-in advisers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“After me, the deluge,” he is supposed to have said, a warning of what would happen once his reign ended.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
"What am I supposed to make of this? We're going to war," Irinkov told AFP as he trimmed the plants in his garden on a windy day.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
They’d find Hesterfowl, figure out what was happening, and go on to live how they were supposed to: Clare alone in Deadwood, and Gingersnipes in whatever Afterlife to which she belonged.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
