Dictionary.com

expect

[ ik-spekt ]
/ ɪkˈspɛkt /
See synonyms for: expect / expected / expecting / expects on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.
to look for with reason or justification: We expect obedience.
Informal. to suppose or surmise; guess: I expect that you are tired from the trip.
to anticipate the birth of (one's child): Paul and Sylvia expect their second very soon.

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Idioms for expect

    be expecting, to be pregnant: The cat is expecting again.

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

synonym study for expect

1. Expect, anticipate, hope, await all imply looking to some future event. Expect implies confidently believing, usually for good reasons, that an event will occur: to expect a visit from a friend. Anticipate is to look forward to an event and even to picture it: Do you anticipate trouble? Hope implies a wish that an event may take place and an expectation that it will: to hope for the best. Await ( wait for ) implies being alert and ready, whether for good or evil: to await news after a cyclone.

usage note for expect

3. 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 WORDS FROM expect

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to expect

foresee, predict, await, forecast, suppose, take, think, hope, require, call for, demand, conjecture, surmise, look, figure, contemplate, reckon, apprehend, gather, feel

Example sentences from the Web for expect

British Dictionary definitions for expect

expect
/ (ɪkˈspɛkt) /

verb (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive)

to regard as probable or likely; anticipatehe expects to win
to look forward to or be waiting forwe expect good news today
to decide that (something) is requisite or necessary; requirethe boss expects us to work late today
See also expecting

Derived forms of expect

expectable, adjectiveexpectably, adverb

Word Origin for expect

C16: from Latin exspectāre to watch for, from spectāre to look at
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with expect

expect

see when least expected.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.