in the offing

1. In the near or immediate future; soon to come. For example, Jan was delighted that exams were finished and graduation was in the offing. This expression originally meant “in the part of the ocean visible between shore and horizon”; its figurative use dates from the late 1700s. Also see in the wind.

Example Sentences

One unicorn - a tech start-up valued at more than $1bn - has made its debut on the country's stock markets, and two more are in the offing.

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Even he seemed to recognize a defeat could be in the offing, saying that he’ll “have to develop a game two plan” and letting it slip that average Americans “might be paying something.”

Read more on Salon

“There’s no stage at which profound public rejection isn’t in the offing,” he says, dryly.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He agreed with Secretary Vance that to oppose it “would be foregoing an option that we could exercise in the event a peaceful solution is not in the offing.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In response to OpenAI's deal spree, there has been some speculation that an AI bubble may be in the offing.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• forthcoming 
• immediate 
• impending 
• inevitable 
• likely 
• looming 
• possible 
• probable 
• unavoidable