DictionaryAI

hope

SayHOHP/hoʊp/UK/həʊp/

Verbhopes, hoping, hoped

Noun pluralhopes

10 meanings of hope

Practice

  1. 1
    want to happenverbtransitive or intransitive
    To want something to happen or to be true, or to want and intend to do something, and think it may happen.

    They hope that the new treatment will ease her symptoms.

    I hope so, though the odds aren't really in our favor.

    UsageHope (that) + clause; reply I hope so or I hope not (not incorrect: I don't hope so). Hope for a thing, hope to do.

    Oppositedespair, fear

  2. 2
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A feeling of trust, belief, or confident expectation that what one wants can or will come about.

    A sudden surge of hope filled the room when the doctor smiled.

    Years of failure had slowly drained her of hope.

    UsageFollowed by of, for, or that: hope of winning, hopes for a cure, hope that he will recover; give up hope.

    Similaroptimism, faith, expectation, confidence, trust

    Oppositedespair, hopelessness, pessimism, despondency

    Note

    The noun shares its root with the verb: Old English hopa, "hope, expectation." It won out over esperance, a borrowing from Middle French that early modern English eventually let go.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The noun derives from Old English hopa, meaning hope or expectation, and shares its origin with the verb. en.wiktionary.org
    • Esperance was borrowed from Middle French. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 3
    nouncountable
    The actual thing that someone wishes for.

    A quiet life in the countryside was her one true hope.

    All his hopes rested on the outcome of a single exam.

    Similardream, wish, aspiration, ambition, desire

  4. 4
    noununcountable
    The possibility that something wanted will come about, often in negative statements saying it is slight or nonexistent.

    Rescuers said there was little hope of finding more survivors under the rubble.

    Without a loan, the restaurant has no hope of staying open past the summer.

    UsageMostly negative: little hope of or no hope of + -ing (no hope of winning); casual not a hope.

    Similarchance, prospect, possibility

    Note

    Here hope means the odds rather than a feeling: it is something there is or someone has, followed by of and an -ing form (no hope of winning). Compare hope as a feeling: a person can stay full of hope while having no hope at all in this sense.

  5. 5
    best betnouncountable
    Someone or something in which people find hope or place their hopes.

    The rookie quarterback became the team's last hope for the playoffs.

    These seedlings are the farmer's best hope after the drought.

    UsageOften with last, best or only: our last hope, the best hope for peace.

    Similarchance, bet, prospect, salvation

  6. 6
    virtuenoununcountable
    In Christian teaching, one of the three theological virtues: the confident desire for eternal life and future good, trusting in God's help to attain it.

    Christian teaching treats hope as a gift that turns believers toward an eternal good.

    The homily described hope as inseparable from faith and love.

    Oppositedespair

    Note

    Theology turns the feeling into a virtue. It stands with faith and love as one of the three theological virtues, as in the King James Bible of 1611: "faith, hope, charity, these three." Modern translations call the third virtue love. Unlike the everyday feeling, it is a steady orientation toward future good rather than a guess about outcomes, and it takes no plural.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Hope is one of the three theological virtues, alongside faith and charity (love). vatican.va
    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. neh.gov
    • The quoted words occur in the King James Version, in 1 Corinthians 13:13. biblegateway.com
    • Modern translations use 'love' for the third virtue, as exemplified by the New International Version. bible.com
    • Christian hope involves steadfast trust directed toward future good, particularly eternal life. vatican.va
  7. 7
    verbdialectaltransitive
    To wish someone something, such as luck or happiness.

    UsageIn standard use, say I wish you all the best; with hope, use a clause: I hope you have a great day.

    Similarwish

    Note

    A regional use that borrows the grammar of wish and takes two objects: I hope you all the best.

Less common meanings

  1. 8
    trust inverbintransitive
    To place confidence in someone or something, trusting with confident expectation of good.

    The faithful hope in a power greater than themselves.

    Through years of illness and loss, he never stopped hoping in God's mercy.

    UsageHope in a person or power means trust; hope for looks toward an outcome.

    Similartrust, believe

    Note

    A devotional sense, at home in the King James Bible of 1611: "I hope in thy word," "Hope thou in God." To hope in is to trust a person or power rather than wait on an outcome, and that difference separates it from hoping for something. It still carries that scriptural ring today.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  2. 9
    upper valleynoundialectalNorthern EnglandScotlandcountable
    A small enclosed valley or sloping hollow between hills or ridges.

    Similarvalley, hollow, dale, glen

    Note

    A northern landscape word with no tie to the feeling. It comes from Old English hop, a word found chiefly in place names, and it may be related to hoop. The word now lives mainly in names such as Stanhope and Kirkhope. As a common noun it belongs to Northern England and Scotland.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

  3. 10
    small baynoundialectalScotlandcountable
    A small coastal bay or inlet that offers a sheltered haven.
    Being by contrarie winds driuen to staie against Erith, at Grauesend, in Tilberie hope.
    1587, Abraham Fleming, Holinshed's Chronicles

    Similarinlet, cove, bay, haven

    Note

    A separate coastal word, related to Icelandic hóp, "a small bay or inlet." Through hoop, it may be a distant cousin of the upland valley. It lingers in names: Holinshed's Chronicles of 1587 records a delay caused by adverse winds "in Tilberie hope," and Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor (1819) explains its Wolf's Hope as "Wolf's Haven." As a common noun it is Scottish.

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

    • The coastal word has a separate etymology and is related to Icelandic hóp, meaning a small bay or inlet. en.wiktionary.org
    • The coastal and valley words may be related through hoop. en.wiktionary.org
    • There was a 1587 edition of Holinshed's Chronicles. en.wikipedia.org
    • The Chronicles records a delay caused by contrary winds and contains the exact words “in Tilberie hope.” en.wiktionary.org
    • Walter Scott wrote The Bride of Lammermoor, first published in 1819. en.wikipedia.org
    • The novel's narrator explains the place-name Wolf's Hope as Wolf's Haven. gutenberg.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of hope apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 7–8

From Middle English hopen, from Old English hopian ("to hope"), from Proto-West Germanic *hopōn, with the further origin unclear. It is related to Dutch hopen, German hoffen, and Swedish hoppas, all meaning "to hope."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • Hope derives from Middle English hopen, Old English hopian meaning 'to hope', and Proto-West Germanic *hopōn. en.wiktionary.org
  • The further origin is unclear. en.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch hopen, German hoffen, and Swedish hoppas are related to English hope and mean 'to hope'. en.wiktionary.org
Meanings 2–6

This noun is a native word. It descends from Old English hopa, meaning "hope, expectation," through Middle English hope, and shares its origin with the verb. Esperance, which English had taken from Middle French esperance, lost out to it.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Meaning 9

Old English hop, a word attested chiefly in place names, became Middle English hope, meaning "a valley."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Meaning 10

The English word hoop is a cognate. This one, though, was borrowed from Icelandic hóp, a name for a small bay or inlet.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts