0 present participle of expect
1 to think or believe something will happen, or someone will arrive:
We are expecting a lot of applicants for the job.
[ + (that) ] I expect (that) you'll find it somewhere in your bedroom.
[ + to infinitive ] He didn't expect to see me.
The financial performance of the business is fully expected (= almost certain) to improve.
We were half expecting you not to come back.
All parents of small children get tired. It's to be expected.
2 to think that someone should behave in a particular way or do a particular thing:
I expect punctuality from my students.
[ + to infinitive ] Borrowers are expected to (= should) return books on time.
3 to be pregnant:
I don't expect we'll have any more trouble from him.
Gosh, I didn't expect to see you here!
I'd expected to put weight on when I gave up smoking, but I didn't.
Our department expects to make five new appointments this year alone.
This is your captain speaking. We expect to be landing at London Heathrow in an hour's time.
Some people expect instant gratification.
