near miss

American  

Or near-miss

noun

1. a strike by a missile that is not a direct hit but is close enough to damage the target.

2. an instance of two vehicles, aircraft, etc., narrowly avoiding a collision.

3. something that falls narrowly short of its object or of success.

   an interesting movie, but a near miss.

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near miss British  

noun

1. a bomb, shell, etc, that does not exactly hit the target

2. any attempt or shot that just fails to be successful

3. an incident in which two vehicles narrowly avoid collision

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near miss Idioms  

1. A narrowly avoided mishap; also, an attempt that falls just short of success. For example, It was a near miss for that truck, since the driver had crossed the center strip into on-coming traffic, or Her horse kept having a near miss in every race, so she decided to sell it. This expression originated during World War II, when it signified a bomb exploding in the water near enough to a ship to damage its hull. Soon afterward it acquired its present meanings.

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Example Sentences

The two aircraft were within less than half a mile of each other horizontally at the time of the near miss and about 500 feet apart vertically, according to data from Flightradar24.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

There was one very near miss between Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls and Franco Colapinto's Alpine, and Norris and Russell both expressed concerns about them in racing on track, too.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

After a 2013 near miss between a helicopter and an airplane in the same location as the January crash, an internal working group recommended that the FAA change a specific helicopter route.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

After the terror of the incident, Ulasewicz said the revelation that his plane was involved in a near miss changed his emotions to anger.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2025

Phil Resch did not intend to take chances, not after the near miss with Inspector Garland.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick