To foresee, predict, or prepare for something well in advance of it actually arriving or happening. I saw this coming: You've been working too hard for too many days in a row not to come down with a really bad flu. Fortunately, we saw this service shutdown coming, so we set up a secondary system for dealing with customer queries in the meantime.

To realize that something is approaching or is about to happen, usually but not always something bad. Can refer to both literal sight and foresight. I can't believe Vanessa broke up with me. I never saw it coming. I think he'll be able to make the catch if he sees it coming. I knew what the punchline was going to be as soon as he started the joke. I could see it coming a mile away.