Meet expectations means reach the level people expected: the hotel met our expectations means it was as good as we'd hoped. Better than expected is exceed expectations, worse is fall short of expectations. In reviews it's a calm all as promised, not excitement.
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meet someone's expectations; meet expectations for quality; fail to meet expectations
- The hotel met our expectations for comfort and cleanliness.
- Early sales did not meet the publisher's expectations.
- The course exceeded my expectations because of the detailed feedback.
What changed
First versionThe result did not reach our expectations.
RevisionThe result did not meet our expectations.
Expectations feel like a level to get to, and reach is the verb for levels and goals: reach a target, reach the final. But English doesn't pair reach with expectations. Expectations are met: did not meet our expectations.
Meet expectations means as expected, exceed means better, fall short of means worse. Meet requirements means fulfil written conditions: requirements are checked against a list, while expectations are personal. In a staff review, meets expectations is a solid fine, not praise.
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The hotel fully ___ our expectations.
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met — Expectations take the verb meet: met our expectations. Reach works with goals and places, as in reach a target, but not with expectations.
Rate a trip, a service or a course against one specific expectation. Use meet expectations.
The guesthouse met our expectations for cleanliness, but the shared kitchen was too small.
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