missing
Americanadjective
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absent, not found, or lost.
a missing person.
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lacking.
Something is missing in this relationship.
idioms
adjective
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not present; absent or lost
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not able to be traced and not known to be dead
nine men were missing after the attack
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to become lost or disappear
Etymology
Origin of missing
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.
"We did have one or two tip-offs... we tried to find her, but we kept missing her," Hannah said.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
More than 100 people remain missing, but rescue operations have been called off in many buildings.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Yet Israel appears to be missing a strategic window.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Talladega Nights” pegs this missing link between America’s urban past and its exurban future from its opening seconds, putting a quote about “hot, nasty, badass speed” in the mouth of New York Swell Eleanor Roosevelt.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The family followed these directions to the letter; they couldn’t risk missing Leila or Frankie, whose childhood pranks “would fill a book.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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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.