offing
offing Lexical Profile
offing Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The near or foreseeable future, especially with reference to an event or development that is likely to happen soon (used almost exclusively in the phrase 'in the offing').
"With several senior executives retiring this year, a major reorganization of the company is clearly in the offing."
The more distant part of the sea visible from the shore or from a ship's anchorage, beyond the area where a pilot is needed.
"The lookout spotted the sails of a merchant vessel waiting out in the offing for the tide to turn."
Word Nuance & Usage
In contemporary English, 'offing' is almost exclusively used within the fixed idiom 'in the offing' to indicate that something is likely to happen soon.
• Rhymes for offing
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the early 17th century as a nautical term from 'off' and '-ing', originally referring to the distant part of the sea visible from the shore where ships could ride safely away from land hazards.