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.
The quality of being in or of the future.