oncoming

adjective

on·​com·​ing ˈȯn-ˌkə-miŋ 

ˈän-

1

a

: coming nearer in time or space

the oncoming year

oncoming traffic

an oncoming car

b

: future

looked forward to his oncoming visit

2

: emergent, rising

the oncoming generation

Synonyms of oncoming

• upcoming
• approaching
• impending
• coming

Examples of oncoming in a Sentence

we're looking forward to your oncoming visit

Recent Examples on the Web

Waymo’s fleet of autonomous taxis has garnered a reputation for causing mayhem on public streets, from trapping drivers in hours of hopeless gridlock to driving into oncoming traffic. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 8 July 2026

Two people were killed and another 20 people were injured when a coach bus carrying passengers crashed into other vehicles and flipped over a median into oncoming traffic late the night of June 29, authorities in New York said. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 30 June 2026

The initial impact caused the bus to flip over the central median into oncoming traffic. — Christina Fan, CBS News, 30 June 2026

The bus then flipped over the central median into oncoming eastbound traffic, police added, citing a preliminary investigation by the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad. — Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1844, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for oncoming

• becoming
• forthcoming
• homecoming
• incoming
• shortcoming
• succumbing
• upcoming
• coming
• cumming
• drumming
• gumming
• humming

Kids Definition

oncoming

adjective

on·​com·​ing ˈȯn-ˌkəm-iŋ 

ˈän-

: coming nearer

oncoming traffic