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.
The clothing was supposed to make reference to Oxford United's founding year of 1893.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
See more: AI was supposed to kill Google search.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
“Democracy is supposed to be about solving our disagreements peacefully,” he said.
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 think that life means things end in the ways they aren’t supposed to and yet we still have to find a way to move on.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
