future perfect

[ fyoo-cher pur-fikt ]

noun
  1. a verb construction, in English made up of the auxiliary verb will followed by a verb in the present perfect, used to express an action or state to be completed at or before a particular point of reference in time to come, such as By this time tomorrow, youwill have givenyour speech and Next month shewill have beencancer-free for six years.

adjective
  1. designating a verb construction used to express an action or state to be completed at or before a particular point of reference in time to come.

Origin of future perfect

1
First recorded in 1895–1900

Words Nearby future perfect

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for future perfect

future perfect

/ grammar /


adjective
  1. denoting a tense of verbs describing an action that will have been performed by a certain time. In English this is formed with will have or shall have plus the past participle

noun
    • the future perfect tense

    • a verb in this tense

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