DictionaryAI

ongoing

SayON-goh-ing/ˈɑnˌɡoʊɪŋ/UK/ˈɒnˌɡəʊɪŋ/

Noun pluralongoings

4 meanings of ongoing

Practice

  1. 1
    adjective
    Happening at the present time; currently in progress.

    The investigation remains ongoing, with no charges filed so far.

    Negotiations between the two companies are ongoing this week.

    Similarcurrent

    Oppositefinished, completed

  2. 2
    adjective
    Continuing over time; lasting or permanent.

    The two nations maintain an ongoing partnership built over many decades.

    She relies on the ongoing support of her family to manage the business.

    Similarlasting, sustained, continuous

    Oppositetemporary

    Note

    The word is the phrasal verb go on folded into one word, on plus going: what is ongoing is what goes on. In this sense the weight falls on duration, as in an ongoing program of viaduct repairs planned across ten years, or ongoing support. It does not take degrees, so nothing is more ongoing than something else. Contrast the "in progress now" meaning, which describes a moment rather than a span.

  3. 3
    nouncountable
    An event or occurrence; something that is taking place.

    The diary faithfully recorded the daily ongoings of the household.

    The study follows the constant ongoings inside a living cell rather than any single chemical change.

    Similarhappening, event, occurrence

    Note

    A noun made straight from the participle, and comfortable in the plural. Floyd H. Allport's Theories of Perception and the Concept of Structure (1961) writes of "continuous ongoings" as the steady run of process beneath any specific electrical or chemical change. That use shows its strength: it names activity that keeps happening rather than a single, bounded event.

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    verbrare
    Present participle and gerund of ongo, a rare verb; ongoing is usually an adjective.
    Note

    Here the spelling belongs to a rare verb, ongo, meaning to proceed, last or continue. As its -ing form, it can head a participial clause or serve as a gerund naming the going-on itself. Because it looks identical to the everyday adjective, readers will usually take it as that. In ordinary prose the adjective, or a plain verb like continue, is the safer choice.

Practice

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Origin

Formed from 'on' plus 'going', and related to the phrasal verb 'go on'.