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.
Official statistics suggest men in Wokingham, Berkshire, can expect to be in good health until the age of nearly 70, and nearly 71 for women.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
If they’re struggling to keep up with costs, we’d expect to see consumer spending suffer.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Some economists expect the war in Iran—which has rattled energy markets, driven up fuel costs and dragged the U.S. stock market to its worst quarter in nearly four years—to damp growth in the short term.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Yet in a post on X, Sam Altman wrote: “I don’t expect them to go any easier on us, am sure I’ll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
As we left Coogie told my aunt, “Better not expect him for lunch.”
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
