expectancy

noun

ex·​pec·​tan·​cy ik-ˈspek-tən(t)-sē 

plural expectancies

1

a

: the act, action, or state of expecting

The strange expectancy that getting on any train gives us …

—John Updike

b

: the state of being expected

occurs with an expectancy slightly greater than usual

2

a

: something expected

Their belief led to an expectancy.

an expectancy of an inheritance

b

: the expected amount (as of the number of years of life) based on statistical probability

life expectancy

Synonyms of expectancy

• anticipation
• expectation

Examples of expectancy in a Sentence

that feeling of optimistic expectancy that fills theatergoers as they wait for the curtain to rise

Recent Examples on the Web

When a call is overturned, Baseball Savant measures the difference in run expectancy between the situation before the pitch/challenge and the situation after the call is flipped. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

As a result, the postgame win expectancy heavily favored Georgia. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Live Healthy Chicago could serve as a national model for closing life-expectancy gaps by addressing a chronic disease that considers the humanity needed to connect. — Garth Walker, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026

With women’s life average expectancy at 82 years, and many living well into their 90s, some women may experience 30 years of living in retirement independently. — Angie O’Leary, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing expectancy

• life expectancy

Kids Definition

expectancy

noun

ex·​pect·​an·​cy

ik-ˈspek-tən-sē

plural expectancies

1

: expectation sense 1

2

: the expected amount (as of years of life) based on statistical probability

life expectancy

Medical Definition

expectancy

noun

ex·​pec·​tan·​cy -ˈspek-tən-sē 

plural expectancies

: the expected amount (as of the number of years of life) based on statistical probability see life expectancy

Legal Definition

expectancy

noun

ex·​pec·​tan·​cy

plural expectancies

: something expected: as

a

: an interest held by a person who may receive something (as a bequest) in the future but has no enforceable right to it

b

: the benefit that will be received from a contract if performed