hoped; hoping
1
: to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true
hopes for a promotion
hoping for the best
I hope so.
2
archaic
: trust
1
: to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment
I hope she remembers.
hopes to be invited
2
: to expect with confidence : trust
Your mother is doing well, I hope.
hoper
noun
1
a
: desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment
came in hopes of seeing you
also
: expectation of fulfillment or success
no hope of a cure
when they were young and full of hope
b
: someone or something on which hopes are centered
our only hope for victory
c
: something desired or hoped for
great hopes for the coming year
Synonyms
Examples of hope in a Sentence
Verb
No one knows yet if anyone survived the crash. At this point, we can only hope.
I hope you're feeling better soon.
That's what she hoped would happen.
Let's hope that the strike ends soon.
I hope I haven't bored you.
Everyone in your family is well, I hope.
Noun
When they started their life together, they were young and full of hope.
Rescuers have not yet abandoned hope that more survivors will be found.
The drug has brought hope to thousands of sufferers.
We allowed ourselves to entertain hopes that the crisis would end soon.
The goal raised the hopes of the team.
The hope is that there will be a settlement soon.
The lawyers do not want to raise false hopes of an early settlement.
He told them the truth with the hope that they would understand.
He had little hope of attending college.
The latest reports hold out hope for a possible end to this crisis.
Recent Examples on the Web
Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2024
That’s something the mining billionaire and politician has hoped to do for more than a decade.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2024
American Idol resumed Sunday night, with performers hoping to make the Top 8 of the competition.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 29 Apr. 2024
Officials also hope to attract new young people living on the West Side for the first time.
—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 28 Apr. 2024
Johansen hopes Saturday’s protest will continue the movement to push Fisher into a sale.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 28 Apr. 2024
Davis hopes Sotomayor will attend, if the Supreme Court’s schedule allows.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2024
Going Undefeated: The Queens Park Ladies, an under-12 soccer team in Bournemouth, England, hopes to inspire younger girls to get into the sport after a dominant season against the boys.
—Emma Bubola, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Moultrie hopes that the book will help school-age children better understand autism and extend more kindness to neurodivergent classmates.
—Essence, 17 Apr. 2024
Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
Efforts to breed the first clone, a female named Elizabeth Ann born in 2021, have failed, but the recent births of two more cloned females, named Noreen and Antonia, in combination with a captive breeding program launched in the 1980s, is boosting hopes of diversifying the endangered species.
—TIME, 18 Apr. 2024
Johnson eyes a weekend vote on foreign aid bills
House Speaker Mike Johnson rolled out three bills to provide assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, with the hopes of holding final votes Saturday.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Efforts to breed the first clone, a female named Elizabeth Ann born in 2021, have failed, but the recent births of two more cloned females, named Noreen and Antonia, in combination with a captive breeding program launched in the 1980s, are boosting hopes of diversifying the endangered species.
—CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
While this is still good news—even a 0 percent rating qualifies you for many kinds of veterans benefits, including healthcare, mental health counseling, and other services—if your hope was to receive monthly compensation benefits, then a 0 percent rating can still feel like a hollow victory.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Seeing the diminutive 500e’s success across the pond, Fiat’s hopes were high for the car’s American rebirth.
—Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2024
The Dons had speedsters James Stadt and Mason Zirkel at second and third when College Park decided to intentionally walk Goddard in hopes of turning a double play.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
But the team chose to release the news of Gaia BH3 early, in hopes their initial observations can serve as bread crumbs for other astronomers’ future study.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
Verb
Garcia hopes officers can picture her as somebody who made it to the other side.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2024
That’s something the mining billionaire and politician has hoped to do for more than a decade.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2024
American Idol resumed Sunday night, with performers hoping to make the Top 8 of the competition.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 29 Apr. 2024
Officials also hope to attract new young people living on the West Side for the first time.
—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 28 Apr. 2024
Johansen hopes Saturday’s protest will continue the movement to push Fisher into a sale.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 28 Apr. 2024
Davis hopes Sotomayor will attend, if the Supreme Court’s schedule allows.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2024
Going Undefeated: The Queens Park Ladies, an under-12 soccer team in Bournemouth, England, hopes to inspire younger girls to get into the sport after a dominant season against the boys.
—Emma Bubola, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Moultrie hopes that the book will help school-age children better understand autism and extend more kindness to neurodivergent classmates.
—Essence, 17 Apr. 2024
Noun
Previous reader questions have been about worries for a daughter dating someone much older, finding hope after being cheated on and whether a boyfriend’s disdain for dogs is a dealbreaker.
—Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
Efforts to breed the first clone, a female named Elizabeth Ann born in 2021, have failed, but the recent births of two more cloned females, named Noreen and Antonia, in combination with a captive breeding program launched in the 1980s, is boosting hopes of diversifying the endangered species.
—TIME, 18 Apr. 2024
Johnson eyes a weekend vote on foreign aid bills
House Speaker Mike Johnson rolled out three bills to provide assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, with the hopes of holding final votes Saturday.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Efforts to breed the first clone, a female named Elizabeth Ann born in 2021, have failed, but the recent births of two more cloned females, named Noreen and Antonia, in combination with a captive breeding program launched in the 1980s, are boosting hopes of diversifying the endangered species.
—CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
While this is still good news—even a 0 percent rating qualifies you for many kinds of veterans benefits, including healthcare, mental health counseling, and other services—if your hope was to receive monthly compensation benefits, then a 0 percent rating can still feel like a hollow victory.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Seeing the diminutive 500e’s success across the pond, Fiat’s hopes were high for the car’s American rebirth.
—Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2024
The Dons had speedsters James Stadt and Mason Zirkel at second and third when College Park decided to intentionally walk Goddard in hopes of turning a double play.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
But the team chose to release the news of Gaia BH3 early, in hopes their initial observations can serve as bread crumbs for other astronomers’ future study.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hope.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to hope
Dictionary Entries Near hope
Cite this Entry
“Hope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hope. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hope
1 of 2 verb
hoped; hoping
: to desire something and expect that it will happen or be obtained
hope to succeed
hope you'll accept the invitation
hope for a bicycle
hope
2 of 2 noun1
archaic
: trust entry 1 sense 1a, reliance
our hope is in the king
2
a
: desire accompanied by expectation of fulfillment
in hope of an early recovery
b
: someone or something on which hopes are centered
a home run was the only hope for victory
c
: something hoped for
Biographical Definition
Hope
2 of 3biographical name (2)
Bob 1903–2003 originally Leslie Townes Hope American (British-born) comedian
Hope
3 of 3biographical name (3)
Victor Alexander John 1887–1951 2nd Marquis of
Linlithgow
lin-ˈlith-(ˌ)gō 
British soldier; viceroy of India (1936–43)
British soldier; viceroy of India (1936–43)
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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