miss
verb (used with object)
to fail to hit or strike.
miss
1 American
[mis]
/ mɪs /
verb (used with object)
misses,
present (3rd person singular)
missed,
past participle, past
missing
present participle
-
to 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.
verb (used without object)
misses,
present (3rd person singular)
missed,
past participle, past
missing
present participle
-
to fail to hit something.
-
to fail of effect or success; be unsuccessful.
noun
-
a failure to hit something.
-
a failure of any kind.
-
an omission.
-
a misfire.
verb phrase
-
miss out on to fail to take advantage of, experience, etc..
You missed out on a great opportunity.
-
miss out to omit; leave out.
idioms
miss
2
American
[mis]
/ mɪs /
noun
misses
plural
-
(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.
-
miss.
3
American
abbreviation
-
mission.
-
missionary.
Miss.
4
American
abbreviation
miss
1
British
/ mɪs /
verb
-
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
-
to lose an opportunity
noun
-
a failure to reach, hit, meet, find, etc
-
informal to avoid (something)
give the lecture a miss
give the pudding a miss
Miss.
2
British
abbreviation
Miss
3
British
/ mɪs /
noun
miss
4
British
/ mɪs /
noun
miss
More Idioms
Usage
What is a basic definition of miss? Miss means to fail to hit something, to fail to meet something, or to feel sadness over the absence or loss of something. The word miss has several other senses as a verb and a noun. To miss something is to fail to hit or strike something, as with an arrow missing a target. If a runaway vehicle misses a stop sign, then it doesn’t smash into it.
- Real-life examples: If you throw a basketball to your friend and they don’t catch it, the ball misses. When a baseball player misses a baseball with their bat, they try to hit the ball with the bat but fail to. A bowling ball that doesn’t knock down any pins has missed them.
- Used in a sentence: Luckily, the falling tree branch missed me by a few inches and landed on the ground instead of on my head.
- Used in a sentence: All of his attempts to throw the basketball into the hoop were misses.
- Real-life examples: If you are late meeting up with a friend, they might leave and you’ll miss them. If you take too long to get to the bus stop, the bus will leave without you and you’ll miss it.
- Used in a sentence: She missed the morning train and had to wait until the next one came.
- Real-life examples: Parents often miss their children after they move out of the house. Everybody misses loved ones who have died. A person may miss a favorite food that is no longer being made.
- Used in a sentence: The freezing man missed the heat of Florida.
Gender
See Ms.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
misssimple
-
missessimple
-
have missedperfect
-
has missedperfect
-
am missingprogressive
-
are missingprogressive
-
is missingprogressive
-
have been missingperfect progressive
-
has been missingperfect progressive
Past
-
missedsimple
-
had missedperfect
-
was missingprogressive
-
were missingprogressive
-
had been missingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of miss1
First recorded before 900; Middle English missen, mis(e), Old English missan; cognate with Old Frisian missa, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Old High German missen, Old Norse missa “to fail to hit or reach”
Origin of miss2
First recorded in 1600–10; short for mistress
Explanation
To miss is to fail to do or sense something, or to be without. If you miss all your free throws, your basketball team probably won't miss you if you skip a game. The verb form of miss stems from the Old English missan “fail to hit what was aimed at,” while the noun form of miss, meaning a term of honor to a young woman is just the abbreviated form of mistress, which used to be a title of respect. You might not miss the days when every unmarried woman had to be called "Miss."
Vocabulary lists containing miss
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"In Response to Executive Order 9066"
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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.
See Examples For:
Gennaro Gattuso left the role of head coach in April after they were beaten by Bosnia-Herzegovina on penalties in the European play-off to miss out on the 2026 tournament in North America.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Nowadays, ABS has the ability to overturn incorrect strike calls on pitches that miss by a tenth of an inch, requiring all umpires to conform to the official zone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
She encourages members of her team to become "calculated risk-takers," and keeps a Wayne Gretzky quote in her office: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
Now we have to wait until next Saturday or Sunday, and hope that from here until then, he hasn’t been moved to a different facility, and we didn’t miss our chance to see him.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Well, now that you’ve got that mega sign out there, I don’t think anyone will miss it,” Harry said.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
“When you visit Rancho Palos Verdes, the devastation caused by land movement is hard to miss. ... I will keep fighting to ensure these communities get the support they need.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
“But if you get hit with a hurricane and an asteroid in the same period, we’ll miss. And that’s OK.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
"Their attention is the thing that we often miss. We feel separate, and then we think that our partner also feels separate, and we have this gap between us."
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
"The banter is the big thing that I miss. When I arrived, one guy said 'hey, you look just like Ross King off the TV - no offence'. I miss the banter."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
“No, miss. I’m with the paint crew. I was just taking a picture.”
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Profit in the recent quarter was dented by a $16 million non-cash asset impairment charge related to the company’s decision to relocate its planned second satellite aluminum recycled slab center to Columbus, Miss. from Arizona.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
That includes Hawthorne, Calif., Bastrop and McGregor in Texas, Memphis, Tenn., and Southaven, Miss. Its workers—including hourly blue-collar workers—receive stock options, which has allowed them to share in the company’s success.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Preston Arrington began renting land from his father in Sunflower County, Miss., a quarter-century ago to grow cotton and grains — becoming the fourth generation of his family to choose a career in the fields.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
Deep in the heart of the Delta lies Clarksdale, Miss., widely known as the birthplace of the blues.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
So I say: ‘But I’ll be all right, Miss. I’m really fit, I know how to look after myself. When it’s time for donations, I’ll be able to do it really well.’
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
When treating Spark’s school days, Mr. Bailey attempts to blend an account of Edinburgh in the 1930s with a history and analysis of “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” Spark’s most popular book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Miss Keeley said the Year Fours had been looking at environmental issues "in a global context" but the water sampling had "brought it home to Dedham".
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Let’s just say Miss Mary and I are on much better terms these days.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
But the pendulum swung and we’re back to days of “Driving Miss Daisy” denial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
We no longer had to start the day with that dumb ‘We hail our pleasant school’ song from Miss Myrt’s time.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Nadira Goffe interviewed a classicist about the significance of casting Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and argues that the controversy over her appearance misses the point.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
More misses on her forehand gifted Muchova a double-break lead and the Czech kept her level consistently high to serve out the first set with an ace.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
This creates an investment angle that most coverage misses.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
Some viewers say the internet’s rush to make Nikki relatable misses the point.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
She tries to sit in a chair but misses it the first time she tries.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Related: ‘I’ve no idea how they got her number’: My student-loan servicer called a friend after I missed a payment.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Ohtani, who has missed his last two starts and received an Orthovisc injection to manage lingering discomfort in his left knee, has continued to throw on flat ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Keegan uncharacteristically missed a simple headed chance, the game ending goalless to send manager Ron Greenwood's side home.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Once it missed the dishwasher altogether, sending a plate clattering to the floor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Such loud conversation was not missed by Don Quixote.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Revenue grew to $4.07 billion from $3.7 billion a year prior, missing analyst expectations of $4.09 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
There, she received two additional doses of antivenom over two days, according to the GoFundMe, which will help cover the costs of Addy’s treatment and the family’s lost income from Manuel missing work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The only thing missing is a little crunch.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
A desperate search for survivors has been underway since early Sunday, with 77 people rescued so far and dozens more missing, according to authorities.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
But it was all Clare could do to hide his patchy fur, his ear shriveled up like a dried mushroom, his missing left eye.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
