expect
Americanverb (used with object)
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expects,
present (3rd person singular)
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expected,
past participle, past
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expecting
present participle
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to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of.
I expect to read it. I expect him later. She expects that they will come.
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to look for with reason or justification.
We expect obedience.
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Informal. to suppose or surmise; guess.
I expect that you are tired from the trip.
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to anticipate the birth of (one's child).
Paul and Sylvia expect their second very soon.
idioms
verb
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to regard as probable or likely; anticipate
he expects to win
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to look forward to or be waiting for
we expect good news today
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to decide that (something) is requisite or necessary; require
the boss expects us to work late today
Usage
This sense of expect ( I expect you went with them. I expect you want to leave now. ) is encountered in the speech of educated people but seldom in their writing.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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expectednessnoun
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expecternoun
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overexpectverb
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preexpectverb (used with object)
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expectableadjective
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unexpectableadjective
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unexpectingadjective
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expectablyadverb
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expectedlyadverb
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expectinglyadverb
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unexpectablyadverb
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unexpectinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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expectsimple
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expectssimple
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have expectedperfect
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has expectedperfect
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am expectingprogressive
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are expectingprogressive
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is expectingprogressive
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have been expectingperfect progressive
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has been expectingperfect progressive
Past
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expectedsimple
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had expectedperfect
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was expectingprogressive
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were expectingprogressive
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had been expectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of expect
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin ex(s)pectāre “to look out for, await,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + spectāre “to look at,” frequentative of specere; see spectacle
Explanation
If you expect something, you think it’s going to happen. If you got up at 4 in the morning, you can expect to fall asleep earlier than usual tonight. If you expect (or anticipate) something, you are fairly sure that it is coming, though you might not be totally certain. You might expect to graduate from a certificate program on time, barring unforeseen events that prevent you from going to class. If you say, simply, “I’m expecting,” people will assume you’re pregnant. Someone disappointed in you might shake his head and say, "I expected more from you."
Vocabulary lists containing expect
"Eleven"
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List 5
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Think
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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:
“But local field operations ... the service and sales functions in the field, I don’t expect any change whatsoever. And in many of those cases, we’re going to be increasing headcount.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Leon Osman: Their signings, plus injury returns should see Tottenham competing where they expect to - but can you ever trust Spurs?
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Companies spread equipment costs over the years they expect to use them, and the big cloud companies do not break out AI chips when they do.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
For corporate issuers, we expect primary markets to be a bit choppier in the remaining months of the year as we see a step up in rates volatility, which is likely to weigh on spreads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
I knew other Jews would be seeking passage on the ships, but I didn’t expect the port to be crowded from end to end.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
While Mohan expects “much of the core of Apple to remain unchanged under incoming CEO John Ternus,” there’s also an opportunity for Apple to take bigger risks than it has previously.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Still, while the minutes leaned hawkish, ING’s James Knightley expects the Fed to remain on hold well into 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Our first question should not be what this means for a football club. It should be whether our actions match the standards we stand for and the community expects of us," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Yet who really expects the prime minister to be shooting and uploading his own content?
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Guards,” Dain says, in a voice that expects to be obeyed.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
The trial of facts, which has yet to hear evidence in her defence, is expected to conclude on Friday.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The fan groups are expected to launch protest action at matches, with the first round kicking off on Friday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The August reading of 47.4 exceeded the 25 reading expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
But this "buffer effect" cannot continue indefinitely and is expected to be followed by faster losses.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
This was the last thing in the world I expected the monkeys to do, and I didn’t like what was happening at all.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Instead, I am expecting the opposite, because of a fresh voice in the dressing room.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
"I was like, oh, this is really cool," he said, initially expecting only a few thousand people to be interested.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
An audience expecting acrobatic basketball stunts and on-court clowning set to “Sweet Georgia Brown,” the Globetrotters’ signature song, was instead treated to a real, close-fought exhibition.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Chief Financial Officer Taylor Luebke said La-Z-Boy is expecting $500 million to $520 million in sales in the current quarter, which would come in below current Wall Street estimates for $537 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Roz kept expecting the seabed to slope downward, into the deep, but the shallow sea stretched on and on.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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.
