All Words > Offing

illustration Offing

Offing

[AH-fing]

Part of speech: noun

Origin: English, early 17th century

1.

The more distant part of the sea in view.

Examples of Offing in a sentence

"The captain saw another ship approach from the offing, gradually making its way closer."

"As they stood on the shore, the offing seemed to shimmer in the early evening light."

About Offing

Offing was originally a nautical term from the early 17th century, from “off,” meaning away from, and “ing,” denoting an instance.

Did you Know?

Offing” is sometimes used as part of a phrase, “in the offing,” which means “likely to happen or appear soon.” For example, “there are several job opportunities in the offing,” or “with so many remakes appearing on streaming services, maybe a 'Frasier' reboot could be in the offing.”

illustration Offing

Recent Words

What's the word?