To anticipate or look forward to something happening, often with a degree of certainty. The belief or anticipation that a specific event will happen. How Can You Think About Expect ? Imagine you're waiting for your favorite band to release a new album. You expect it to drop soon because of the buzz you’ve heard and the clues from the band. He wasn't expecting our hospitality. [VERBnoun] I do expect to have some time to myself in the evenings. [VERBto-infinitive] I wasn't expecting you to help. [VERBnoun to-infinitive] Is this a rational thing to expect of your partner, or not? [VERBnoun + of] She realizes now she expected too much of Helen. [Vamount + of] If you expect (or anticipate) something, you are fairly sure that it is coming, though you might not be totally certain. You might expect to graduate from a certificate program on time, barring unforeseen events that prevent you from going to class. The simple definition of EXPECT is to think that something will probably or certainly happen —often followed by to + verb. EXPECT meaning: 1. to think or believe something will happen, or someone will arrive: 2. normal and what usually…. Learn more. expect (third-person singular simple present expects, present participle expecting, simple past and past participle expected) I expect to be able to walk again after getting over my broken leg. The hostage is expected to be released later today. I expect it'll rain this weekend, but I hope it won't. expect, hope, look mean to await some occurrence or outcome. expect implies a high degree of certainty and usually involves the idea of preparing or envisioning. To expect is to look forward to the likely occurrence or appearance of someone or something: We should not expect something for nothing—but we all do and call it Hope (Edgar W. Howe). EXPECT definition: to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of. See examples of expect used in a sentence. EXPECT definition: 1. to think or believe something will happen, or someone will arrive: 2. normal and what usually…. Learn more.