ETYM French futur, Latin futurus, used as fut. p. of esse to be, but from the same root as Eng. be. Related to Be.
1. Coming at a subsequent time or stage; SYN. later, ulterior.
2. Yet to be or coming.
3. Effective in or looking toward the future.
4. (Grammar) A verb tense or other formation referring to events or states that have not yet happened.
5. (Of elected officers) Elected but not yet serving; SYN. next, succeeding.

Množina: futures

ETYM Cf. French futur. Related to Future.
1. A verb tense that expresses actions or states in the future; SYN. future tense.
2. The time yet to come; SYN. hereafter, futurity, time to come.
In business, a contract to buy or sell a specific quantity of a particular commodity or currency (or even a purely notional sum, such as the value of a particular stock index) at a particular date in the future. There is usually no physical exchange between buyer and seller. It is only the difference between the ground value and the market value that changes. Such transactions are a function of the futures market.

Množina: future tenses

Any of several verb forms used to talk about the future. The shall/will constructions are most commonly used for prediction: “It will rain”; “I shall thank you later.” The going to construction is a variant of this: “You’re going to hate this.” There is no accepted form of the future tense in English, as there is, for example, in French. English can use a present-tense or a past-tense verb to indicate future. “I am going to work nights next week.” “I’m off now.” “I was leaving for France when she came round.” “I found the place where the match was going to take place.” Grammarians give these variations such names as “pure future”, “future progressive”, and “future perfect” (see tense).