Link Centre Dictionary

offing

of·fing

UK/ˈɒfɪŋ/ US/ˈɔfɪŋ/ rare

noun

1.

the near or foreseeable future

  • “there was a wedding in the offing”
2.

the part of the sea that can be seen from the shore and is beyond the anchoring area

  • “there was a ship in the offing”

Origin

From off + -ing. Attested since before 1600. Early texts also spell the term offin and offen.

Phrases

  • in the offing

Related words

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.