miss the point

Idioms  

1. Overlook or fail to understand the essential or important part of something, as in Chris missed the point of Gwen's complaint, thinking she was opposed to the date of the next meeting. This expression employs point in the sense of “the salient portion,” a usage dating from the late 1300s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

miss the point

Such a plan may miss the point demonstrated by Tony the Tiger’s endurance: No matter what’s in the box, with cereal, what you’re buying is a friendly feeling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

But to say they choose to live on the street, as Pratt has, is to miss the point, to excuse our own complicity, to overlook historic policy failures, and to choose contempt over compassion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

Both statements can be technically accurate and still miss the point.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

But you miss the point if you fail to look at the bigger picture.

From Slate ● Jan. 9, 2026

A lot of people will claim to be both, but those people miss the point entirely: You are predisposed to either one fate or the other.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Related Words

• confuse
• miscalculate
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misjudge
• misread