expectancy

American  

[ik-spek-tuhn-see] / ɪkˈspɛk tən si /

Also expectance

noun

• expectancies
  plural

1. the quality or state of expecting; expectation; anticipatory belief or desire.

2. the state of being expected.

3. an object of expectation; something expected.

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expectancy British  

/ ɪkˈspɛktənsɪ /

noun

1. something expected, esp on the basis of a norm or average

   his life expectancy was 30 years

2. anticipation; expectation

3. the prospect of a future interest or possession, esp in property

   an estate in expectancy

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• expectancies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of expectancy

From the Medieval Latin word ex(s)pectantia, dating back to 1590–1600. See expectant, -ancy

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

expectancy expectancies

Surging yields in recent weeks have distorted other markets, extending the life expectancy of two other popular flavors of debt securities: mortgage bonds and Treasury futures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

When a call is overturned, Baseball Savant measures the difference in run expectancy between the situation before the pitch/challenge and the situation after the call is flipped.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Global life expectancy is close to the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the outlook for years lived in good health is recovering more slowly, the WHO said Friday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

But charities have warned that it will disproportionately affect areas of the UK where life expectancy is lower, and those on lower incomes.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

With the melting of the last of the twilight there grew a kind of expectancy and tension, as though it were thawing snow about to slide from a sloping roof.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Advisers today consider this guideline outdated and oversimplified because it relies on static assumptions that don’t reflect modern retirement realities such as longer life expectancies, unexpected healthcare expenses and market downturns.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

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

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

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

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