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meet expectations — be as hoped or required

collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon

to be as good as people hoped or wanted; to do what was expected or needed.

Say it like a native

Textbook The product succeeded in fulfilling the expectations that had been set.

Native The product met expectations.

Natives 'meet expectations'; the long passive is reporty.

Pattern: meet (someone's) expectations

In use

  • The new restaurant didn’t quite meet my expectations.work
  • I believe a good teacher should not only meet students’ expectations but also inspire them to achieve more.IELTS speaking

Common mistake

✗ The film didn't reach my expectations.

✓ The film didn't meet my expectations.

You MEET (or live up to) expectations, not 'reach' them.

Common collocations

  • meet expectations — meet, exceed, fall short of, high expectations

Don't confuse it

Compare with 'exceed expectations' (do better than expected) and 'fall short of expectations' (not as good as expected).

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