2 VERB [usu cont] If you are expecting something or someone, you believe that they will be delivered to you or come to you soon, often because this has been arranged earlier. □ [V n] I wasn't expecting a visitor. □ [V n adv] We were expecting him home again any day now.
3 VERB If you expect something, or expect a person to do something, you believe that it is your right to have that thing, or the person's duty to do it for you. □ [V n] He wasn't expecting our hospitality. □ [V to-inf] I do expect to have some time to myself in the evenings. □ [V n to-inf] I wasn't expecting you to help. □ [V n + of ] Is this a rational thing to expect of your partner, or not? □ [V amount + of ] She realizes now she expected too much of Helen.
4 VERB If you tell someone not to expect something, you mean that the thing is unlikely to happen as they have planned or imagined, and they should not hope that it will. □ [V n] Don't expect an instant cure. □ [V to-inf] You cannot expect to like all the people you will work with. □ [V n to-inf] Don't expect me to come and visit you there.
5 VERB [only cont] If you say that a woman is expecting a baby, or that she is expecting , you mean that she is pregnant. □ [V n] She was expecting another baby. □ [V ] I hear Dawn's expecting again.
6 PHRASE You say ' I expect ' to suggest that a statement is probably correct, or a natural consequence of the present situation, although you have no definite knowledge. [SPOKEN ] □ I expect you can guess what follows. □ I expect you're tired. □ 'Will Joe be here at Christmas?'—'I expect so.'.
ex|pec|tan|cy / I kspe ktənsi/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Expectancy is the feeling or hope that something exciting, interesting, or good is about to happen. □ The supporters had a tremendous air of expectancy.
2 → see also life expectancy
ex|pec|tant / I kspe ktənt/
1 ADJ If someone is expectant , they are excited because they think something interesting is about to happen. □ An expectant crowd gathered. □ She turned to me with an expectant look on her face. ● ex|pect|ant|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ The others waited, looking at him expectantly.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] An expectant mother or father is someone whose baby is going to be born soon.
ex|pec|ta|tion ◆◇◇ /e kspekte I ʃ ə n/ (expectations )
1 N‑PLURAL Your expectations are your strong hopes or beliefs that something will happen or that you will get something that you want. □ Students' expectations were as varied as their expertise. □ The car has been General Motors' most visible success story, with sales far exceeding expectations.
2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] A person's expectations are strong beliefs which they have about the proper way someone should behave or something should happen. □ [+of ] Stephen Chase had determined to live up to the expectations of the Company. COLLOCATIONS expectation NOUN 1
noun + expectation : analyst, inflation, market
adjective + expectation : high, low; realistic, reasonable, unrealistic
verb + expectation : beat, defy, surpass; dampen, lower, raise; fulfil, meet
ex|pec|to|rant / I kspe ktərənt/ (expectorants ) N‑COUNT An expectorant is a cough medicine that helps you to cough up mucus from your lungs. [MEDICAL ]
ex|pedi|en|cy / I kspiː diənsi/ N‑UNCOUNT Expediency means doing what is convenient rather than what is morally right. [FORMAL ] □ This was a matter less of morals than of expediency.
ex|pedi|ent / I kspiː diənt/ (expedients )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] An expedient is an action that achieves a particular purpose, but may not be morally right. □ [+ of ] He pretended to be energised by the expedient of wearing his shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
2 ADJ If it is expedient to do something, it is useful or convenient to do it, even though it may not be morally right. □ When things go wrong it is expedient to say it was a management failure.
ex|pedite /e ksp I da I t/ (expedites , expediting , expedited ) VERB If you expedite something, you cause it to be done more quickly. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] We tried to help you expedite your plans.
ex|pedi|tion /e ksp I d I ʃ ə n/ (expeditions )
1 N‑COUNT An expedition is an organized journey that is made for a particular purpose such as exploration. □ [+ to ] …Byrd's 1928 expedition to Antarctica.
2 N‑COUNT You can refer to a group of people who are going on an expedition as an expedition . □ Forty-three members of the expedition were killed.
3 N‑COUNT An expedition is a short journey or trip that you make for pleasure. □ …a fishing expedition.
ex|pedi|tion|ary force /e ksp I d I ʃənri fɔː r s, [AM ] -neri/ (expeditionary forces ) N‑COUNT An expeditionary force is a group of soldiers who are sent to fight in a foreign country. [MILITARY ]
ex|pedi|tious /e ksp I d I ʃəs/ ADJ Expeditious means quick and efficient. [FORMAL ] □ The judge said that arbitration was a fair and expeditious decision-making process. ● ex|pedi|tious|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ The matter has certainly been handled expeditiously by the authorities.
ex|pel / I kspe l/ (expels , expelling , expelled )
1 VERB [usu passive] If someone is expelled from a school or organization, they are officially told to leave because they have behaved badly. □ [be V -ed] More than five-thousand secondary school students have been expelled for cheating. □ [V -ed] …a boy expelled from school for making death threats to his teacher.