expect
[ ik-spekt ]
/ ɪkˈspɛkt /
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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 about expect
be expecting, to be pregnant: The cat is expecting again.
Origin of expect
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. 2023
How to use expect in a sentence
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, adverbWord 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
Other 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.