upcoming

IPA/ˈʌpkʌmɪŋ/
KK[ˈʌpkˌʌmɪŋ]IPA/ˈʌpkʌmɪŋ/

upcoming — adjective

  • upcomingpositive
  • more upcomingcomparative
  • most upcomingsuperlative

1. planned or expected to take place in the very near future, usually within days o

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

planned or expected to take place in the very near future, usually within days or weeks — used especially for scheduled events, deadlines, and occasions that people are preparing for.

Example

Cyrus started saving money for his upcoming trip to Japan next spring.

collocation: upcoming + trip / event / election

The upcoming election has been the main topic of conversation in our village.

attributive use before a noun

Common collocations
  • upcoming event
  • upcoming election
  • upcoming deadline
  • upcoming trip
  • upcoming release
  • upcoming season
  • upcoming exam
  • upcoming concert
Synonyms
  • forthcoming

    more formal; often used in official announcements (a forthcoming report / a forthcoming album)

  • approaching

    broader in scope; can describe seasons, ages, or any passing time (the approaching winter)

  • impending

    carries a sense of urgency and often a negative tone (impending storm / impending crisis)

  • imminent

    suggests something will happen very soon, any moment now; more dramatic register

Antonyms
  • previous

    the one before the current one (the previous meeting)

  • recent

    having happened a short time ago (recent events)

Grammar Patterns

upcoming + noun (event, deadline, election, etc.)

Usage Note

This adjective is almost always used before a noun (attributive position). It sounds unnatural in predicative position (❗ 'The meeting is upcoming' → prefer 'The meeting is coming up'). Unlike common adjectives, it cannot be modified by very (not ❗ 'very upcoming') and has no comparative or superlative form.

Common Mistakes

I have an upcoming cold.
I think I am coming down with a cold.
upcoming is only used for planned or scheduled events, not for illnesses or natural processes.
The upcoming weather looks rainy.
The weather in the coming days looks rainy.
upcoming sounds odd for natural phenomena; use coming or approaching instead.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words describe something that will happen in the future, but they differ in tone and timing. Upcoming is the most neutral and widely used in everyday English — it fits naturally with scheduled events such as meetings, trips, deadlines, and elections. Forthcoming is slightly more formal and appears often in official contexts (a forthcoming government report, a forthcoming album release). Approaching focuses on the steady passage of time and has a neutral to slightly warm feel (the approaching holiday season, the approaching end of term). Impending and imminent both carry greater urgency: impending often suggests something unwanted or unavoidable (impending disaster, impending layoffs), while imminent means 'about to happen at any moment' and is used in more dramatic situations (imminent arrival, an imminent breakthrough). For simple plans and schedules, use upcoming — it is plain, direct, and carries no emotional charge.

forthcoming ↗approaching ↗impending ↗imminent ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • upcoming event
  • upcoming election
  • upcoming deadline
  • upcoming trip
  • upcoming release

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed by combining the adverb 'up' (from Old English 'upp', meaning to a higher position) with the present participle 'coming' (from Old English 'cuman', to move toward). The compound follows the same pattern as 'forthcoming' and first appeared in English during the 14th century, but it did not become a common adjective until the mid-20th century in American English. Today it is used across all varieties of English.