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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.

The body of the girl, known as Kumanjayi Little Baby for cultural reasons, was found on 30 April, five days after she went missing from an Aboriginal town camp near Alice Springs.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

Business leaders risk missing out if their use of AI is overly focused on efficiencies, said Nickle LaMoreaux, chief human resources officer at International Business Machines IBM -0.20%decrease; red down pointing triangle .

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

“Non-viewers of CNN are missing a lot. There are so many reasons to watch,” Los Angeles Times critic Howard Rosenberg wrote in 1986, hailing the 6-year-old channel as an “institution.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Kudos to A.I. on missing the at-leasting nature of people in its training.

From Slate • May 6, 2026

“I think everyone will manage missing one day of kiddie music.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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.