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# expectancy

noun (expectancy, expectancies)

«expectancy» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Expectancy is the feeling that something exciting or important is about to happen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#m1)
2. «Life expectancy» is the number of years a person or animal is likely to live, on average. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#m2)

### In the lessons

In geography, science and maths, life expectancy compares how long people live in different countries or times; it has grown thanks to clean water, vaccines and better food. In stories, «an air of expectancy» tells the reader everyone is waiting for something. Common phrases: «life expectancy», «an air of expectancy», «a sense of expectancy», «full of expectancy».

### Examples

- Life expectancy in the UK is about eighty years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#x1)
- There was an air of expectancy as the curtain rose. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#x2)
- Long ago, life expectancy was much lower because many babies died young. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#x3)
- The life expectancy of a pet hamster is about two years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#x4)
- The children waited in silent expectancy for the results. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#x5)
- Clean water has raised life expectancy around the world. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#x6)
- A dog's life expectancy depends on its breed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/#x7)

### Note

Mostly uncountable; plural «expectancies» is rare. Trap in maths: life expectancy is an average — it does not mean everyone dies at that age. Low life expectancy long ago was mainly because many young children died, not because adults all died at forty.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «expectancy» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expectancy/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«expectancy» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/expectancy.html) on Mova free.