suppose

verb sup·pose \ sə-ˈpōz , usually after "I" ˈspōz \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Examples: suppose in a Sentence

Definition of suppose

supposed; supposing

transitive verb

1 a : to lay down tentatively as a hypothesis, assumption, or proposal

suppose a fire broke out

suppose you bring the salad

b (1) : to hold as an opinion : believe

they supposed they were early

(2) : to think probable or in keeping with the facts

seems reasonable to suppose that he would profit

2 a : conceive, imagine

b : to have a suspicion of

3 : presuppose

intransitive verb

: conjecture, opine

See suppose defined for English-language learners

See suppose defined for kids

Examples of suppose in a Sentence

Suppose a fire broke out. How would we escape?
Just suppose for a moment that you agreed with me.
Supposing he refuses to help, what do we do then?
The renovations will cost much more than we originally supposed.

Recent Examples of suppose from the Web

The stressful exercise of making household budgets meet monthly payments diminished the happiness, which families were supposed to be enjoying....

— monitor editors, The Christian Science Monitor, "Troubled by the US Supreme Court’s upholding of Trump’s travel ban, Erdoğan’s reelection tilts toward authoritarianism, Why a stable Turkey is important, Ukraine has come a long way since Russia’s invasion, ‘Standard of living’ or ‘standard of life’?," 14 July 2018
President Kiir, whose term of office was supposed to end this year, may have hindered prospects for peace negotiations with Mr. Machar when the country’s Parliament voted this week to allow the president to remain in power until 2021.

— New York Times, "U.N. Imposes Arms Embargo on South Sudan as Atrocities Go Unabated," 13 July 2018
The Battle Mountain District was supposed to have one lease sale in September 2017.

— zack colman, Scientific American, "A Trump Oil Boom Could Transform This Rocky Mountain Landscape," 13 July 2018
By law, the library is supposed to be governed by a seven-member board elected by Calumet Park residents.

— zak koeske, Daily Southtown, "For years, there's been no financial oversight at the Calumet Park library. Now the state is getting involved.," 13 July 2018
And of course the Congressman is correct, the justice department is supposed to take the case over.

— Fox News, "Meadows, Dershowitz react after Lisa Page defies subpoena," 12 July 2018
At the moment, NATO members are supposed to spend 2% of GDP on defense—a goal, not a requirement or a membership fee—but only eight of the alliance’s 29 members will do so this year.

— david meyer, Fortune, "President Trump Reportedly Threatened to Pull the U.S. Out of NATO," 12 July 2018
The Origin Hotel is supposed to open by the end of the summer.

— christopher reynolds, latimes.com, "Sitting in the palm of nature: The unique energy — and performances — of Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre," 12 July 2018
Yet the over-representation of rural America was not supposed to affect the House and the presidency.

— The Economist, "American democracy’s built-in bias towards rural Republicans," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'suppose.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of suppose

Middle English, from Anglo-French supposer, from Medieval Latin supponere (perfect indicative supposui), from Latin, to put under, substitute, from sub- + ponere to put — more at position

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

suppose Synonyms

Phrases

take for granted;

SUPPOSE Defined for English Language Learners

suppose

verb

Definition of suppose for English Language Learners

: to think of (something) as happening or being true in order to imagine what might happen
: to believe (something) to be true
: to believe (something) to be possible