suppose

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

Updated on: 17 May 2018

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

There's the milk that had been open 16 days and the sauce that had been open 42 days, both of which were supposed to be consumed within seven days of opening.

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "What's that on your doughnut? Flies, rodents, roaches, poop shut down these restaurants," 14 May 2018
But although the company was supposed to be building 400,000 Model 3s in 2018, at last official count, the annual rate is barely above 100,000.

— russ mitchell, latimes.com, "Musk's medicine for ailing Tesla: a 'thorough reorganization'," 14 May 2018
Toney Armstrong: The journey has led you right back to the person that was supposed to be as close to him as anybody, and that was his wife.

— josh gelman, CBS News, "New twist in probe of slain NBA star Lorenzen Wright," 12 May 2018
The managers process and pay your claims, help create the list of medications your plan will cover, set the amount of copays for those drugs and are supposed to save the system money by encouraging the use of lower-cost medications.

— sandee lamotte, CNN, "Is your pharmacist under a 'gag rule' about drug prices?," 11 May 2018
The construction that's supposed to happen here is part of a larger project known as the North Graham Street Extension Project.

— charlotteobserver, "Motorists frustrated at lack of work on north Charlotte road despite all the barrels | Charlotte Observer," 8 May 2018
There was an agreement by or there was supposed to be agreement by Mr. Trump to give her a full release, to leave her alone, to not discuss this.

— NBC News, "Meet the Press -May 6, 2018," 6 May 2018
Injured center DeMarcus Cousins was supposed to provide the toughness that's required in hard-nosed playoff battles like the Pelicans have had through three games against Golden State.

— william guillory, NOLA.com, "Rajon Rondo turns back the clock with throwback performance in Game 3 win," 5 May 2018
The string of records will probably end Friday, as highs are only supposed to reach 88, not quite the 92 also recorded in 2001.

— brian k sullivan, Bloomberg.com, "New York Breaks Record High Temperature Thursday Afternoon," 3 May 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