Definitions
Wiktionary
- adj. literally, of a ship, etc. Within the area of the sea known as the offing; at a considerable distance from land, but visible from shore, often in reference to an approaching ship.
- adj. idiomatic Soon to come; likely to happen; in the foreseeable future; projected to occur; on the horizon; in the wind.
- adj. idiomatic At a distance, but visible.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. visible but not nearby.
Examples
“Hereat we rejoiced and, ere an hour of the day had passed, the buildings showed plain in the offing and we asked the”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘in the offing’.
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Three Sheets to the Wind
Common words or phrases of nautical origin that have taken on different or metaphorical meanings. Chained_bear and I tossed a coin over who would make the list. I won (or lost, depending on how you...
scuttlebutt, taken aback, brass monkey, boot camp, clean bill of health, three sheets to t..., the devil to pay, between the devil..., by and large, the whole nine yards, mind your ps and qs, slush fund and 116 more...
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Daily Words
vinaigrette, peddle, wrought, dictum, in the offing, crony, nebulous, contingent, incandescent, subdue, eponymous, hoary and 17 more...
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chained_bear See also offing. Oct 14, 2008
reesetee "The offing" (also called "offen" or "offin") is the most distant part of the sea that's still visible from shore. A person waiting for a ship would first detect its approach to shore when it was "in the offing." The phrase came to describe an event that will not occur immediately but will inevitably happen before too long. Dec 5, 2007