■ noun
1》 ( the ~ ) time that is still to come.
↘events or conditions that will or are likely to occur at a later date.
2》 a prospect of success or happiness: I might have a ~ as an artist.
3》 Grammar a tense of verbs expressing events that have not yet happened.
4》 ( ~s ) contracts for assets (especially commodities or shares) bought at agreed prices but delivered and paid for later. Compare with forward (in sense 2).
■ adjective
1》 existing or occurring in the ~.
↘planned or destined to hold a specified position: his ~ wife.
2》 Grammar (of a tense) expressing an event yet to happen.
Phrases
in ~ from now onwards.
Derivatives
~less adjective
Origin
ME: via OFr. from L. futurus , ~ participle of esse 'be' (from the stem fu- , ult. from a base meaning 'grow, become').