supposed to

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊs ˌtu/ (stressed)
• IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊs tə/ (unstressed)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Phrase

supposed to

1. (idiomatic) Required to, ought to, expected to

   I am supposed to report to the police every week.

   Paul is supposed to call his mother every day.

2. (idiomatic, with not) Permitted to.

   I am not supposed to smoke there.

3. (idiomatic, in interrogative or similar situations) Expected to; capable of (used to indicate that an expectation is impossible or unreasonable in the context).

   How am I supposed to work in all this racket?

   What was he supposed to do—just sit there and do nothing?

4. (idiomatic) Intended to; expected to; believed to.

   It's supposed to rain.

   The thief is supposed to be hiding in the forest.

Usage notes

• Followed by an obligatory bare infinitive.
• Often implies that the opposite is a strong possibility.

Synonyms

• (required): be meant to (UK)

Translations

Required to

• French: censé (fr), devoir faire
• Galician: suponse que
• German: sollen (de)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: måtte (no)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: mieć (pl), powinien (pl)
• Spanish: tener que, haber de (es), deber (es), se supone que (es)

Believed to

• French: censé (fr)
• German: sollen (de)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gå for, skulle (no)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

References

• “supposed to”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.