up-and-coming
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of up-and-coming
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
Explanation
If someone is up-and-coming, they're verging on being really successful or famous. An up-and-coming rock band is just starting to be popular and beginning to draw crowds at their shows. If you're an up-and-coming magician, you might be a little bit new to doing magic tricks, but you work hard at it and are actually pretty good. Local fans might be starting to mention your name when someone's looking for a birthday party entertainer: "Have you seen that amazing up-and-coming magician who pulls rabbits out of her hat and then turns them into bouquets of flowers?"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A lot of the up-and-coming artists that I deal with, they don’t have a 9 to 5, they DJ three nights a week at different places.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
She hit the comedy festival scene in 2024 as a standout comic at the Bergamot Comedy Fest at the Crow, which is known for discovering up-and-coming talent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The uncertainty ratchets up after Max heads to Malta, the small archipelago nation in the Mediterranean, to translate the work of an up-and-coming poet, and Leonie discovers that she’s pregnant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
She rocketed to stardom with starring roles on “Heroes” and “Nashville,” where she played up-and-coming country star Juliette Barnes opposite Connie Britton.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
She would be in demand among all the up-and-coming young men and she would transcribe letter after thrilling letter.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
