expect
ex·pect/ɪkˈspɛkt/verb
expect is spelled E-X-P-E-C-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ex·pect). It appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, expect means “To predict or believe that something will happen” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in expect?
| Letters | 6: E-X-P-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ex·pect |
| In writing | 102 times per million words; the 1,048th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is expect?
Expect appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce expect?
- /ɪkˈspɛkt/
- /ɛkˈspɛkt/
Expect has 2 syllables, split ex·pect in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-expect.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with expect?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as expect.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: except.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of expect
- expects present, singular, he/she/it
- expecting participle, present
- expected participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does expect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To predict or believe that something will happen
when you least expect it
- 2
To consider obligatory or required.
England expects that every man will do his duty.
- 3
To consider reasonably due.
My parents expected too much of me when I was in college.
- 4
To be pregnant, to consider a baby due.
We are expecting our third in June.
- 5
obsoleteTo wait for; to await.
The knight fixed his eyes on the opening with breathless anxiety, and continuing to kneel in the attitude of devotion which the place and scene required, expected the consequence of these preparations.
- 6
obsoleteTo wait; to stay.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Expect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | attendre, s'attendre à, prédire |
| German | erwarten |
| Portuguese | esperar, aguardar, predizer , prever |
| Spanish | esperar, expectar, aguardar, esperarse, figurarse, tener la expectativa de |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does expect come from?
From Latin expectāre, infinitive form of exspectō (“look out for, await, expect”), from ex (“out”) + spectō (“look at”), frequentative of speciō (“see”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).