expectancy
Americannoun
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expectancies
plural
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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:
Then Covid wiped out most of the country’s life expectancy gains since 2000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
"Given the nature of the terminal and uncurable medical condition of Mr. Mladic and his short-term life expectancy, continued detention serves no legitimate purpose, and approaches inhuman treatment and punishment," his team argued.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
It is thought, due to short life expectancy, that many veterans opt for the lump sum.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Life expectancy can be extended through a lung transplant, but even then the fatal disease will continue to progress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 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
The aging of the baby boom generation—known as the “silver tsunami”—along with rising life expectancies pointed to years of steady demand and pricing power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 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
There are said to be a billion billion insects on the earth at any moment, most of them with very short life expectancies by our standards.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
