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.
Letters to the editor, which are supposed to provide a quick way to respond to flawed work, are ignored or unavailable.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
Next month's World Cup, where Los Angeles is hosting eight matches, was supposed to allow the Californian metropolis to burnish its image, just two years before the city hosts the Olympic Games.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
“And if you want to be the mayor and you can’t get along with people who are your colleagues on council, I don’t know how you’re supposed to govern at all.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
They are supposed to conduct various sporting, craft and leisure activities.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
They were supposed to speak Michif exclusively, but since Simon was good at the language, their program instructors let it slide.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
