offing

/ˈɔfɪŋ/

Other forms: offings

The offing is what's predicted or promised in the future. If you accompany your friend to a family gathering but there doesn't seem to be any food available, you might ask if any snacks are in the offing.

In the offing means "impending" or "in the near future." When your teacher tells you a quiz is in the offing this week, you know it's time to study for it. Offing's nautical meaning is the most distant part of the ocean seen from land, or an area that's far enough from the shore that it's safe for a ship to travel. This literal "at a distance" definition led to the figurative use that's more common today.

Definitions of offing

1. noun

   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”

   type of:

   body of water, water

   the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)
2. noun

   the near or foreseeable future
   “there was a wedding in the offing”

   type of:

   future, futurity, hereafter, time to come

   the time yet to come