be supposed to

English

Pronunciation

(US) IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊs ˌtu/ (stressed)
(US) IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊs tə/ (unstressed)
Audio (AU) (file)

Phrase

be supposed to

(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.
(idiomatic, with not) Permitted to.
I am not supposed to smoke there.
(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?
(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)
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)

References

be supposed to at OneLook Dictionary Search

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