- to regard as probable or likely; anticipate
- to look forward to or be waiting for
- to decide that (something) is requisite or necessary; require: the boss expects us to work late today
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ex•pect /ɪkˈspɛkt/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
See -spec-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026-
- to anticipate the occurrence or the coming of:We are expecting fifty guests.
- [not: be + ~-ing] to believe or think: [~ + (that) clause]We expect that fifty guests will come.[~ + object + to + verb]We expect fifty guests to come to the party.[~ + to + verb]I expect to get there on time.
- Informal. to suppose;
guess;
presume:[not: be + ~-ing;usually: I + ~;~ + clause]I expect you know who I'm talking about.
- Idioms be expecting, to be pregnant:She's expecting and is due to give birth in August.
See -spec-.
ex•pect
(ik spekt′),USA pronunciation v.t.
v.i.
ex•pect′a•ble, adj.
ex•pect′a•bly, adv.
ex•pect′ed•ly, adv.
ex•pect′ed•ness, n.
ex•pect′er, n.
ex•pect′ing•ly, adv.
- 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 Termsto 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.
v.i.
- Idioms be expecting, to be pregnant:The cat is expecting again.
- Latin ex(s)pectāre to look out for, await, equivalent. to ex- ex-1 + spectāre to look at, frequentative of specere; see spectacle
- 1550–60
ex•pect′a•bly, adv.
ex•pect′ed•ly, adv.
ex•pect′ed•ness, n.
ex•pect′er, n.
ex•pect′ing•ly, adv.
- 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.
- 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.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
expect /ɪkˈspɛkt/ vb (transitive; may take a clause as object or an infinitive)
'expected' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
aberration
- accelerate
- age
- already
- answer back
- Antichrist
- a priori
- astray
- attainment target
- billable
- bit
- bonus
- boy
- budget
- business plan
- chivalry
- come across
- concessive
- course
- deficit
- deliver
- due
- early
- eighty
- expectation
- expected frequency
- extra
- failure
- fancy
- fat
- good
- goods
- gritter
- hold out
- horse latitudes
- injury list
- irony
- irregular
- late
- let in
- let off
- life span
- lights out
- long
- low
- Mahdi
- messianic
- misfire
- more
- name