world to come

noun

The Jewish afterlife or mythic future, usually thought to occur after the coming of the Messiah, in which the righteous are rewarded for their good deeds and the wicked punished for their evil deeds.

Similar
Olam Haba
OriginHebrew הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא →
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Meanings

nounworld to come (plural worlds to come)

plural worlds to come

  1. JudaismThe Jewish afterlife or mythic future, usually thought to occur after the coming of the Messiah, in which the righteous are rewarded for their good deeds and the wicked punished for their evil deeds.

    Synonyms: Olam Haba

  2. Any of various other afterlives in different theologies and mythologies.

    If their bodies were ill-used, the animals of that species would not allow themselves to be taken, neither in this world nor in the world to come.

    1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 8, page 241

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe Jewish afterlife or mythic future, usually thought to occur after the coming of the Messiah, in which the righteous are rewarded for their good deeds and the wicked punished for their evil deeds.

Similar
Olam Haba
Also see
olam haba

Origin

  1. Hebrewהָעוֹלָם הַבָּא
  2. Englishworld to come

A translation of Hebrew הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא (ha'olám habá, literally “the coming world”).

More words from Hebrew

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

world to come. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/world%20to%20come

MLA

“world to come.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/world%20to%20come. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “world to come,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/world%20to%20come.

Source: world to come on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.