expect
Usage
What are other ways to say expect?
The verb expect implies confidently believing, usually for good reasons, that an event will occur: to expect a visit from a friend. To 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.
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.
See Examples For:
Families who have lived in Big Sur for generations have come to expect their share of curveballs, particularly as climate change has accelerated rapid swings between intensely wet and dangerously dry weather.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Activity in the second half of the year has been weaker than the first in recent years, and economists expect 2026 to be little different.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Plus, companies that expect to hire fewer new graduates need thinner pipelines of student workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
"She doesn't get exposed to any of that, and then we expect her suddenly to walk into the workforce without having any independence training all these years," Gillian says.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
I knew better than to expect anything as grand as my old library with its brick exterior, white columns, and stone statues posing out front.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
“Management expects to ship a significant amount of hardware due to the networking supercycle and Cisco’s strong competitive position due to its supply chain,” the analysts said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The company announced the plan in 2022 and says it expects to save $2 billion through optimization efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The group of oil-rich countries now expects global oil demand to grow by 580,000 barrels a day, down from 780,000 barrels a day previously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
He adds: "Japanese society expects painless reform, so I think it can be said that drastic reform is difficult, to say the least."
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
His fathers before him were vaqueros, and so he expects us to be men of the llano.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
Analysts had expected a profit of $716 million on sales of $22.53 billion, according to Visible Alpha.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The consumer-price index came in as expected: not soft enough to take a rate increase off the table, not firm enough to force one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
When Michael Dwyer and Justin Krook started filming “Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear” in 2017, they expected it to be completed within just a few years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Polls will close at 10:00 pm, with counting beginning immediately and a result expected by around 7:00 am Friday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Any second I expected something to jump out of the bushes and eat me up.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Freight rates were boosted by higher spot rates and volatility in fuel prices, with management expecting higher demand to bring market growth, they add.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting the company to report a profit of 11 cents a share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Economists are expecting growth of 0.4% for the three months.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
"I wasn't expecting that. I though it wasn't going to be as good. But the atmosphere, the situation, the way they prepared everything. I loved it!" she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
He looks down at the scrawling he’s made on the paper, synthesizing everything he’s written, as if expecting new information to leap out at him.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Vocabulary lists containing expect
"Eleven"
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List 5
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Think
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