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Synonyms

missing

American  
[mis-ing] / ˈmɪs ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. absent, not found, or lost.

    a missing person.

  2. lacking.

    Something is missing in this relationship.

idioms

  1. go missing, to disappear; become lost.

    My keys have gone missing again.
missing British  
/ ˈmɪsɪŋ /

adjective

  1. not present; absent or lost

  2. not able to be traced and not known to be dead

    nine men were missing after the attack

  3. to become lost or disappear

"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

Etymology

Origin of missing

First recorded in 1520–30; miss 1 + -ing 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"MISSING: My Dad, Michael Misaka, has been missing since the Lahaina Fires started," Megan Sweeting wrote on Facebook.

From Reuters • Aug. 14, 2023

The parking lots found bootleg T-shirt sales of Simmons on a "MISSING" poster.

From Fox News • Oct. 23, 2021

WHO’S MISSING: Tennessee will be playing without starting defensive end Darrell Taylor, who has been suspended indefinitely.

From Washington Times • Oct. 13, 2017

WHO’S MISSING: Because the SEC has 14 teams and the Big 12 only has 10, four SEC teams won’t be participating.

From Washington Times • Jan. 27, 2017

He no longer read newspapers because each one he opened seemed to have the advertisement that Kainene’s parents had placed, with the photo of Kainene taken by the pool, under the heading MISSING.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.