miss

1 of 4

verb

ˈmis 

missed; missing; misses

transitive verb

1

: to fail to hit, reach, or contact

miss the target

2

: to fail to perform or attend

had to miss school for a week

3

: to leave out : omit

in such a hurry that he missed his breakfast

4

: to discover or feel the absence of

missed his wallet as soon as he entered the store

5

: to fail to comprehend, sense, or experience

missed the point of the speech

6

: escape, avoid

just missed hitting the other car

7

: to fail to obtain

ignorance misses the best things in this life

—W. R. Inge

intransitive verb

1

: to fail to hit something

took another cut at the ball but missed again

2

a

: to be unsuccessful

such a fine prospect that he can't miss

b

: misfire

the engine missed

3

archaic : to fail to get, reach, or do something

missable

ˈmi-sə-bəl 

adjective

miss

2 of 4

noun (1)

1

a

: a failure to hit

b

: a failure to attain a desired result

2

: misfire

3

chiefly dialectal : disadvantage or regret resulting from loss

we know the miss of you, and even hunger … to see you

—Samuel Richardson

miss

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noun (2)

1

capitalized

a

—used as a title prefixed to the name of an unmarried woman or girl

b

—used before the name of a place or of a line of activity or before some epithet to form a title for a usually young unmarried female who is representative of the thing indicated

Miss America

2

: young lady

—used without a name as a conventional term of address to a young woman

3

: a young unmarried woman or girl

4

misses plural : a clothing size for women of average height and build

Miss

4 of 4

abbreviation

Mississippi

Phrases

miss a beat

: to deviate from regular smooth performance

the company changed ownership without missing a beat

miss out on

: to lose a good opportunity for

missed out on a better job

miss the boat

: to fail to take advantage of an opportunity

Synonyms

Verb

• blow off
• cut
• skip

Noun (1)

• bomb
• bummer
• bust
• catastrophe
• clinker
• clunker
• debacle
• débâcle
• disaster
• dud
• failure
• fiasco
• fizzle
• flop
• frost
• lemon
• loser
• shipwreck
• turkey
• washout

Noun (2)

• filly
• girl
• lass
• lassie
• missy
• nymph
• sheila [Australian & New Zealand]

Examples of miss in a Sentence

Verb

He swung and missed the ball completely.

The shot missed the goal by inches.

The batter swung and missed.

She took three shots and missed every time.

I would hate to miss this opportunity.

She could have joined us, but she missed her chance.

They missed a payment on their car loan.

He was in such a hurry that he missed breakfast.

Noun (1)

a television season with far fewer hits than misses

Noun (2)

a talented young miss who wants to become a writer

you should ask that young miss if she would like to dance

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The lone miss: A block by Chiefs safety Justin Reid off the left edge in Denver’s Week 8 win last year. —Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 10 Nov. 2024

The husband of a San Antonio woman who has been missing for a month has been charged with murder. —Antonio Planas, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024

Noun

While sales in its water-and-protection unit came up short of expectations, the miss there was more than offset by the beat in electronics-and-industrial sales. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024

There were a lot of hits, a few misses, but there's no bad blood here. —Arika Herron, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English missan; akin to Old High German missan to miss

Noun (2)

short for mistress

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Noun (2)

1667, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing miss

• can't-miss
• give (something) a miss
• hit-and-miss
• hit or miss
• junior miss
• miss its/the mark
• miss one's calling
• miss one's vocation
• miss out
• miss the forest for the trees
• near miss
• never/not miss a trick
• too good to miss
• wouldn't miss it for the world
• you can't miss it

Kids Definition

miss

1 of 3 verb

ˈmis 

1

: to fail to hit, catch, reach, or get

miss a target

miss the ball

2

: escape entry 1 sense 2, avoid

just missed being hurt

3

a

: to leave out : omit

missed their lunch

b

: to fail to attend

missed three days of school

4

: to discover or feel the absence of

missed our old friends

5

: to fail to understand, sense, or experience

missed the main point of the story

6

: misfire sense 1

the engine missed

miss

2 of 3 noun

1

: a failure to reach a desired goal or result

2

: a failure to fire

miss

3 of 3 noun

 sense 1 is  (ˌ)mis,

məs;

 sense 2 is  ˈmis

1

a

—used as a title before the name of an unmarried woman or girl

b

—used before the name of a place, an activity, an epithet, or a quality to form a title for a girl who represents the thing indicated

Miss America

Miss Punctuality

2

: a young woman or girl

—used as a term of address

this way, Miss

3

plural : a clothing size for women of average height and build

Etymology

Verb

Old English missan "to fail to reach or get"

Noun

a shortened form of mistress