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.
Athlos was supposed to expand to a two-day event in 2026, but the New York meeting scheduled for 2 October was cancelled following consultation with the athletes at the end of a long season.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
See more: AI was supposed to kill Google search.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
If the agency can do these things, judges are supposed to let it do as it sees fit.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
A softening job market was supposed to take pressure off wages and prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
I was supposed to be visiting Mr. Harris tonight, but Dad called the nursing home and said I was sick.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
