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 Rwanda trip, Mr. Attenborough says, wasn’t supposed to be about gorillas at all, but rather the opposable thumb, one of the significant characteristics we share with the great apes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Doncic was supposed to be back by Friday.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
Dahlia Lithwick: This is a speech that’s supposed to be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
From Slate • Apr. 17, 2026
LIV Golf was supposed to be the breakaway tour that changed golf as we know it.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
That’s where she went to do her math problems when she was supposed to be at practice.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
