miss
1to fail to hit or strike: to miss a target.
to fail to encounter, meet, catch, etc.: to miss a train.
to fail to take advantage of: to miss a chance.
to fail to be present at or for: to miss a day of school.
to notice the absence or loss of: When did you first miss your wallet?
to regret the absence or loss of: I miss you all dreadfully.
to escape or avoid: He just missed being caught.
to fail to perceive or understand: to miss the point of a remark.
to fail to hit something.
to fail of effect or success; be unsuccessful.
a failure to hit something.
a failure of any kind.
an omission.
a misfire.
miss out, Chiefly British. to omit; leave out.
miss out on, to fail to take advantage of, experience, etc.: You missed out on a great opportunity.
Idioms about miss
miss fire. fire (def. 55).
Origin of miss
1Other words from miss
- miss·a·ble, adjective
- un·miss·a·ble, adjective
- un·missed, adjective
Words that may be confused with miss
Other definitions for miss (2 of 4)
(initial capital letter) a title of respect for an unmarried woman, conventionally prefixed to her name or to the name of that which she represents: Miss Mary Jones; Miss Sweden.
(used by itself, as a term of address, especially to a young woman): Miss, please bring me some ketchup.
(initial capital letter) a title prefixed to a mock surname used to represent a particular attribute of the person, especially one excessively prominent: Miss Innocent; Miss Congeniality.
a young unmarried woman; girl: a radiant miss of 18 or so.
misses,
a range of sizes, chiefly from 6 to 20, for garments that fit women of average height and build.
the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
a garment in this size range.
Origin of miss
2usage note For miss
Other definitions for miss. (3 of 4)
mission.
missionary.
Other definitions for Miss. (4 of 4)
Mississippi.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use miss in a sentence
These amounts of two to four inches were slightly below Capital Weather Gang’s forecast of three to five inches, but not a huge miss.
After 2 to 4 inches of snow, an icy night ahead in D.C. area. Snow showers possible Monday. | Jason Samenow, Dan Stillman, Andrew Freedman | February 1, 2021 | Washington PostThe links between planets are tenuous, and easily broken by common solar system drama such as a near miss with a passing star, or if one planet sends another one flying.
These 6 exoplanets somehow orbit their star in perfect rhythm | Charlie Wood | January 27, 2021 | Popular-ScienceThat miss, according to ESPN, ended a streak of 48 straight successful field goals for Tucker in the fourth quarter and overtime, including the postseason.
Lamar Jackson gets his first playoff victory as Ravens hold Titans’ Derrick Henry to 40 yards | Mark Maske | January 10, 2021 | Washington PostAny educated person should know what Bayesian reasoning is, or making a decision under uncertainty in a way that trades off the harm of false alarms with the harm of misses.
“We Get All Our Great Stuff from Europe — Including Witch Hunting.” (Ep. 446) | Steven D. Levitt | January 7, 2021 | FreakonomicsGoogle has the ability to request entity-based sentiment, but we decided against using it as the correct labeling of the companies as entities seemed hit or miss.
Brand reputation and the impact of Google SERP selections | JR Oakes | December 23, 2020 | Search Engine Land
I was getting real missable again, when I saw a card slipping in under our state-room door.
Harper's Young People, November 30, 1880 | VariousI was too missable to answer him, and he wouldn't have heard me if I had, for he ran away as fast as he could to play with Nettie.
Harper's Young People, November 30, 1880 | VariousShe's a missable little thing to any one who likes her, and she can tempt him to speak out in spite of himself when he gets back.
Everyman's Land | C. N. Williamson and A. M. WilliamsonThe end of the hole was that Bobby, by holing a very missable putt, did get a four, and Herman took five and lost the hole.
Fifty Years of Golf | Horace G. Hutchinson
British Dictionary definitions for miss (1 of 4)
/ (mɪs) /
to fail to reach, hit, meet, find, or attain (some specified or implied aim, goal, target, etc)
(tr) to fail to attend or be present for: to miss a train; to miss an appointment
(tr) to fail to see, hear, understand, or perceive: to miss a point
(tr) to lose, overlook, or fail to take advantage of: to miss an opportunity
(tr) to leave out; omit: to miss an entry in a list
(tr) to discover or regret the loss or absence of: he missed his watch; she missed him
(tr) to escape or avoid (something, esp a danger), usually narrowly: he missed death by inches
miss the boat or miss the bus to lose an opportunity
a failure to reach, hit, meet, find, etc
give something a miss informal to avoid (something): give the lecture a miss; give the pudding a miss
Origin of miss
1- See also miss out
Derived forms of miss
- missable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for miss (2 of 4)
/ (mɪs) /
informal an unmarried woman or girl, esp a schoolgirl
Origin of miss
2British Dictionary definitions for Miss (3 of 4)
/ (mɪs) /
a title of an unmarried woman or girl, usually used before the surname or sometimes alone in direct address
Origin of Miss
3British Dictionary definitions for Miss. (4 of 4)
Mississippi
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with miss
In addition to the idioms beginning with miss
- miss a beat
- miss by a mile
- miss fire
- miss is as good as a mile, a
- miss much
- miss out on
- miss the boat
- miss the point
also see:
- heart misses a beat
- hit or miss
- near miss
- not miss a trick
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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