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Meaning & use

up-and-coming

adjective·Everydayapproving

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UK/ˌʌp ənd ˈkʌmɪŋ/
US/ˌʌp ən ˈkʌmɪŋ/

Meanings

  1. adjectivebefore a nounapproving

    Likely to become successful or famous soon, especially a person starting a career.

    Grammar: Usually before a noun and hyphenated: an up-and-coming singer.

    Patterns

    • an up-and-coming something

    She is an up-and-coming chef with a growing fan base.

    The festival gives up-and-coming bands a chance to play.

    He is an up-and-coming politician in the city council.

  2. adjectivebefore a nounapproving

    Becoming more popular, modern or desirable, used of places, companies or industries.

    Grammar: Used before nouns like neighborhood, area or company.

    Patterns

    • an up-and-coming area
    • an up-and-coming company

    They bought a house in an up-and-coming neighborhood.

    The company is an up-and-coming player in the solar industry.

    Young artists are moving into the up-and-coming district by the river.

Common combinations

an up-and-coming artist
The gallery shows work by up-and-coming artists.
an up-and-coming star
The film made her an up-and-coming star.
an up-and-coming neighborhood
Rents are rising in this up-and-coming neighborhood.
an up-and-coming talent
Scouts are watching the up-and-coming talent closely.
an up-and-coming company
They invested in an up-and-coming company.

Synonyms and how they differ

promising
Promising says something shows signs of future success, while up-and-coming says the person is already rising publicly.
rising
Rising is shorter and more neutral, as in rising star.
emerging
Emerging suggests only just beginning to appear, often in a more formal or economic sense.
budding
Budding suggests an early stage with talent still developing, and is a bit more gentle.

Opposites

establishedhas-beendeclining

Word family

up adverb
toward a higher position or level
come up verb
to rise in rank or appear
upcoming adjective
about to happen soon
upstart noun
a person who has risen quickly, often seen as arrogant

Commonly confused: up-and-coming or upcoming?

up-and-coming vs upcoming

Upcoming means about to happen, like an upcoming event, while up-and-coming means likely to succeed soon.

Practice

Which phrase describes a young musician who is gaining attention and likely to be famous soon?

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