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future

[fyoo-cher]
See more synonyms for future on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. time that is to be or come hereafter.
  2. something that will exist or happen in time to come: The future is rooted in the past.
  3. a condition, especially of success or failure, to come: Some people believe a gypsy can tell you your future.
  4. Grammar.
    1. the future tense.
    2. another future formation or construction.
    3. a form in the future, as He will come.
  5. Usually futures. speculative purchases or sales of commodities for future receipt or delivery.
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adjective
  1. that is to be or come hereafter: future events; on some future day.
  2. pertaining to or connected with time to come: one's future prospects; future plans.
  3. Grammar. noting or pertaining to a tense or other verb formation or construction that refers to events or states in time to come.
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Origin of future

1325–75; Middle English futur Anglo-French, Old French < Latin fūtūrus about to be (future participle of esse to be)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for future

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • She was distrustful of the future, and apt to anticipate bad fortune.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • But Robert was destined to fall in with him at a future day.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • He bathed in this imaginary future as in the waters of omnipotence.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Finished our bacon this morning, and for the future will only have damper and tea.

  • The present, so, was more than any possible future, how dire soever it might be.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for future

future

noun
  1. the time yet to come
  2. undetermined events that will occur in that time
  3. the condition of a person or thing at a later datethe future of the school is undecided
  4. likelihood of later improvement or advancementhe has a future as a singer
  5. grammar
    1. a tense of verbs used when the action or event described is to occur after the time of utterance
    2. a verb in this tense
  6. in future from now on; henceforth
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adjective
  1. that is yet to come or be
  2. of or expressing time yet to come
  3. (prenominal) destined to becomea future president
  4. grammar in or denoting the future as a tense of verbs
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See also futures
Derived Formsfutureless, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Latin fūtūrus about to be, from esse to be
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for future

adj.

late 14c., from Old French futur, from Latin futurus "going to be, yet to be," as a noun, "the future," irregular suppletive future participle of esse "to be," from PIE *bheue- (see be). The English noun (late 14c.) is modeled on Latin futura, neuter plural of futurus.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with future

future

see in the near future.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.