in the wind

Idioms  

1. Likely to occur, as in “He knew Gattis had guessed what was in the wind and was pretty unhappy about it” (Clive Egleton, A Different Drummer, 1985). This metaphoric expression alludes to perceiving something being brought or blown by the wind. [Late 1500s] Also see get wind of; something in the wind.

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Example Sentences

The spiders disperse themselves by “ballooning,” in which spiderlings release silk that catches in the wind, letting them travel.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

That afternoon in 2025, with his shellacked coif flapping against his bronzed forehead in the wind, the president held up hastily-assembled poster boards bearing the names of the world’s countries and territories.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

Warner may have been forced back to the bargaining table by its lawyers or big shareholders who have multiple fingers in the wind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

ANL has countered that evidence will prove it sourced its stories legitimately and that claims around the use of private investigators were "clutching at straws in the wind".

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

Sadako was quiet, listening to the leaves on the maple tree rustle in the wind.

From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr

Related Words

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