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Glite Dictionary
time to come

time to come

27 3.6
The time that comes after now
  • noun
: tiempo por venir
  • And it shall be when your sons ask you in time to come, saying, "What is this?"
  • a long time to come

In saying that, I hope you stick around for a long time to come.

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Examples

  • "You waited all this time to come and tell me this?" The Countess shrugged.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • It was obvious that for some time to come it would be David the child that I would have to deal with.

    The Man Who Loved Women (1983)

  • You will have your time to come.

    How Green Was My Valley (1941)

  • For some time to come, one should expect these markets to be primarily of national interest.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Hopefully, we can be with them for a long time to come, but there is no guarantee.

    Blog text (22)

  • So, whether I have a short time remaining or a long time to come... ...I owe it to my mind to fill it with things of beauty and intelligence.

    Infamous (2006)

  • Claims on global assistance will continue to be sizable for some time to come.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Given the scale of these obstacles, Venezuela is likely to remain unstable for a long time to come.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Mapping the universe will undoubtedly keep us busy, awed, and fascinated for a long time to come.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Experts predict that technology will continue to evolve in the time to come.

Synonyms

future
vstime to come
∞ 1.0

The time that comes after the present

is the general upcoming period rather than only what follows now
futurity
vstime to come
1 9.5

The time that comes after now

is the same upcoming period but expressed with a different phrase

Antonyms

past
∞ 1.0

The time before now when events happened

How Immediate

game time
  • Informal
26 2.7
time to come
27 3.6
future
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

time to come singular
times to come plural

Morphology

time + to + come

The meaning 'the period of time that is still in the future' is directly derivable from combining 'time' with the clause-like modifier 'to come' (i.e. 'that will come'), so a learner who knows 'time' and 'come' can infer the future sense. This compositional pattern (time + forthcoming) is common in English and in many other languages, making it readily comprehensible at B1.

Etymology

The phrase time to come pictures time as something that will come to us, like a visitor arriving. That's why it means 'the future'.