coming

coming — adjective

1. relating to a time, event, or season that will happen or start in the near futur

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

relating to a time, event, or season that will happen or start in the near future

Example

The coming winter is expected to be colder than usual this year.

only before noun: coming + time noun

With the coming election, many candidates are visiting local shops.

Common collocations
  • coming week
  • coming year
  • coming months
  • coming election
  • coming season
  • coming winter
  • coming changes
Synonyms
  • upcoming

    very similar in meaning; 'upcoming' sounds slightly more natural for scheduled events (upcoming concert), while 'coming' feels broader

  • approaching

    suggests gradual movement toward a point; 'approaching storm' feels more dramatic than 'coming storm'

  • forthcoming

    more formal than 'coming'; often used for book releases, meetings, or official events

  • imminent

    stronger urgency — suggests something will happen very soon, often with a sense of threat or importance

Antonyms
  • past

    refers to time that has already happened rather than the future

  • previous

    refers to the one that came before, not the one yet to come

Grammar Patterns

coming + [time noun or event noun]

Usage Note

Only used before a noun (attributive position). You cannot say 'the year is coming' to mean the same thing — that would be the verb 'come' in participle form, which has a different grammar.

Common Mistakes

The week coming will be busy.
The coming week will be busy.
the adjective 'coming' must go before the noun, not after it.

coming — noun

Word family

  • come
    verbA1
  • comer
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These four words all describe something that will happen soon, but they differ in register and connotation. 'Upcoming' is the closest informal synonym of 'coming' and is very common for scheduled events (an upcoming concert, an upcoming meeting). 'Approaching' suggests gradual movement toward a point in time and often carries a slightly dramatic tone (the approaching deadline, the approaching storm). 'Forthcoming' is more formal and typically appears in official or written contexts (the forthcoming report, our forthcoming meeting). 'Imminent' is the strongest — it implies something is about to happen at any moment and often involves urgency or threat (imminent danger, imminent collapse). Choose 'upcoming' for neutral scheduling, 'approaching' for a sense of movement, 'forthcoming' in formal writing, and 'imminent' only when immediate action is expected.

upcomingapproachingforthcomingimminent

Common collocations

Phrases

  • comings and goings

Prepositions

  • of

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

'Coming' comes from the Old English word 'cuman', which meant 'to go, come, or approach'. This traces back to the Proto-Germanic '*kwemaną', and further to the Proto-Indo-European root '*gʷem-', meaning 'to step, go, or come'. The adjective use (happening soon) and the noun use (the act of arriving) both developed from the present participle of the verb 'come', which has been part of English since before the 9th century.