in the offing


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
Related to in the offing: draw out, let bygones be bygones

off·ing

 (ô′fĭng, ŏf′ĭng)
n.
The part of the sea visible from shore that is very distant or beyond anchoring ground.
Idiom:
in the offing
1. In the near or immediate future; soon to come: with exams finished and graduation in the offing.
2. Nearby; at hand.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
مُحْتَمَل الحُدوث
kilátásban van
í vændum
vo výhľade
yakında

off

(of) adverb
1. away (from a place, time etc). He walked off; She cut her hair off; The holidays are only a week off; She took off her coat.
2. not working; not giving power etc. The water's off; Switch off the light.
3. not at work. He's taking tomorrow off; He's off today.
4. completely. Finish off your work.
5. not as good as usual, or as it should be. His work has gone off recently
6. (of food) rotten. This milk has gone off – we can't drink it; (also adjective) That meat is certainly off.
7. out of a vehicle, train etc. The bus stopped and we got off.
8. cancelled. The marriage is off.
preposition
1. away from; down from. It fell off the table; a mile off the coast; He cut about five centimetres off my hair.
2. not wanting or allowed to have (food etc). The child is off his food.
3. out of (a vehicle, train etc). We got off the bus.
ˌoff-ˈchance noun
a slight chance. We waited, on the off-chance (that) he might come.
ˌoff-ˈcolour , (American) ˌoff-ˈcolor adjective
not very well. She's a bit off-colour this morning.
ˌoffˈhand adjective
acting or speaking so casually that one is being rude. offhand behaviour.
adverb
without thinking about something first. I can't tell you the answer offhand.
ˌoffˈhandedly adverb
ˌoffˈhandedness noun
ˌoffˈshore adjective
1. in or on the sea, not far from the coast. offshore oil-wells.
2. (of winds) blowing away from the coast, out to sea.
ˌoffˈside adverb
(in football, hockey etc) in a position (not allowed by the rules) between the ball and the opponents' goal. The referee disallowed the goal because one of the players was offside.
adjective
(of a vehicle etc) on the side nearest to the centre of the road. the front offside wheel.
ˌoff-ˈwhite adjective
not quite white, eg slightly yellow etc. an off-white dress.
badly, well off
poor, rich. The family was quite well off.
be off with you!
go away!.
in the offing
about to happen. He has a new job in the offing.
off and on / on and off
sometimes; occasionally. I see him off and on at the club.
the off season the period, at a hotel, holiday resort etc, when there are few visitors: It's very quiet here in the off season; adjective (etc)
off-season rates.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.