Oncoming Meaning
/ˈɔˌnkʌmɪŋ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounApproach, onset
adjapproaching; coming closer
Sentence Examples
He failed to see the stop sign at the intersection and hit an oncoming car.
At least you'll be able to row your way out of the oncoming flood.
Remember to look for oncoming traffic before you merge left.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The driver swerved to avoid the ____ car on the highway.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The driver swerved to avoid the ____ truck that had crossed into the wrong lane on the highway.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English on comynge, oncomynge, oncoomynge; equivalent to on- + coming (noun).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Some man that wayfaring was stood by housedoor at night's oncoming."
— 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 14: Oxen of the Sun]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 368:
"When she saw the oncoming of the armed men, with the King shining at their head, Little-Foot was again thrown into terror and begged her brother to escape while there was yet time […]"
— 1923, Powys Mathers, The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Rendered into English from the Literal and Complete French Translation of Dr. J. C. Mardrus, volume IV, London: Routledge, published 2005, page 192:
"Instead, the sound of muffled drums
Inside myself: I have to lean
And listen as my strength succumbs,
To hear what these oncomings mean."
— 1924, D. H. Lawrence, “Jimmy and the Desperate Woman”, in The Complete Short Stories, volume 3, Penguin, published 1977, page 609:
"[…] And
Wouldn't slow for the hauled reins, his name,
Or shouts of walkers: crossroad traffic
Stalling curbside at his oncoming
The world subdued to his run of it."
— 1958, Sylvia Plath, “Whiteness I Remember”, in The Collected Poems, New York: Harper & Row, published 1981, page 103:
"A bitter easterly breeze blew with a threat of oncoming winter."
— 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien, chapter 13, in The Hobbit, Ballantine, published 1982, page 242:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The driver swerved to avoid the ____ car on the highway.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The driver swerved to avoid the ____ truck that had crossed into the wrong lane on the highway.