up-and-coming

up-and-coming — adjective

1. describes a person who is beginning to show skill, talent, or ability in a parti

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a person who is beginning to show skill, talent, or ability in a particular field and will probably become successful and well-known

Example

Manuela is an up-and-coming chef who just opened her first restaurant in Taipei.

up-and-coming before job title (chef)

The festival featured up-and-coming musicians from across Southeast Asia.

Common collocations
  • up-and-coming artist
  • up-and-coming chef
  • up-and-coming musician
  • up-and-coming designer
  • up-and-coming filmmaker
  • up-and-coming company
Synonyms
  • promising

    more general; can describe both people and things, not limited to careers

  • emerging

    suggests the person is just beginning to appear in their field

  • rising

    common in 'rising star'; implies growing fame or influence

Antonyms
  • established

    opposite end of career — already successful and well-known

Grammar Patterns

up-and-coming + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun (attributive position). It is not natural to say 'He is up-and-coming' — instead use 'He is an up-and-coming designer.' Commonly followed by job titles such as artist, chef, musician, director, or athlete.

Common Mistakes

She is up-and-coming in her field.
She is an up-and-coming researcher in her field.
The phrase must be followed by a noun it modifies; it cannot stand alone as a predicate.

Word family

  • up-and-comer
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe someone with a bright future, but they differ in nuance. Promising is the broadest term — a promising student might be good at any subject, while an up-and-coming student is specifically making a name in their chosen field. Emerging focuses on the earliest stage of visibility: an emerging artist has just started to get noticed, whereas an up-and-coming artist has already built some momentum and early achievements. Rising is the closest synonym, especially in phrases like 'rising star' — both suggest upward movement, but rising has a wider application ('rising prices', 'rising temperatures'), which up-and-coming does not. For example: 'Chloe is a promising young violinist' (potential, not yet proven), 'An emerging talent on the jazz scene' (just appearing), but 'Manuela is an up-and-coming chef with her own restaurant' (already achieving early success).

promising ↗emergingrising ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • rapidly up-and-coming
  • quietly up-and-coming

Etymology

English

This compound adjective developed from the phrase 'up and coming,' which was used from the mid-1800s to describe someone advancing or making progress. The hyphenated form appeared in the late 19th century as the expression became a fixed modifier placed before nouns.