expecting
Syllables: ex·pect·ing/ɪkˈspɛktɪŋ/
expecting is the present participle and gerund of expect.
Adjective
expecting (comparative more expecting, superlative most expecting)
- Of a woman, female animal, or couple, in expectation of giving birth; pregnant.
- The expecting mother is enthusiastic about learning childcare.
- When is the new couple expecting?
- Expectant.
- Dunscomb was in the sanctum, while a single clerk and three or four clients, countryment of decent exterior and very expecting countenances, occupied the outer room .1850, James Fenimore Cooper, The Ways of the Hour
- Parma, unwilling to fight an action which might force France into the field, raised the siege; and Alençon, having strengthened the garrison, thrown in supplies, saved his credit with the Low Countries, and at all events, compromised himself, fell back into his expecting attitude, waiting for...1862, James Anthony Froude, History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of the Spanish Armada, page 419
Meaning of expect
Verb
expect (third-person singular simple present expects, present participle expecting, simple past and past participle expected)
- To predict or believe that something will happen
- when you least expect it
- Synonyms:
- anticipate, hope, look for, bargain for
- To consider obligatory or required.
- England expects that every man will do his duty.1805, Nelson, Horatio via Pasco, John, signal sent at the Battle of Trafalgar
- To consider reasonably due.
- My parents expected too much of me when I was in college.
- To be pregnant, to consider a baby due.
- We are expecting our third in June.
- To wait for; to await.
- Let's in, and there expect their coming.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- To wait; to stay.
- I will 'expect until my change in death, / And answer at Thy call1636, G[eorge] S[andys], “(please specify the page)”, in A Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David. And upon the Hymnes Dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments, London: [Andrew Hebb […]], →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- wait
Noun
expecting (plural expectings)
- The process by which somebody expects something.
- In this process participants become immersed in the dynamic interplay of rememberings, communal extraction, imaginings, expectings, etc., and of singular perceptions of each of these separately and as they come together […]1998, Merrelyn Emery, Searching: The Theory and Practice of Making Cultural Change
Synonyms of expecting
- pregnant
- enceinte
- in a delicate situation
- in the family way
Forms of expecting
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more expecting |
| superlative | most expecting |
| Noun | |
| plural | expectings |
Words formed from expecting
Questions about expecting
- What does expecting mean?
- Expecting means of a woman, female animal, or couple, in expectation of giving birth; pregnant.
- What is expecting the present participle and gerund of?
- Expecting is the present participle and gerund of expect.
- What part of speech is expecting?
- Expecting can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce expecting?
- Expecting is pronounced /ɪkˈspɛktɪŋ/.
Words near expecting in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: expecting (page history and authors); expect (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-expecting.wav.
Cite this entry: “expecting.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/expecting. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.