near miss

noun

variants or less commonly near-miss

1

a

: a miss (as with a bomb) close enough to cause damage

b

: something that falls just short of success

2

a

: a near collision (as between aircraft)

b

: close call

Synonyms

• close call
• close shave

Examples of near miss in a Sentence

After years of near misses, the team has finally won a championship.

a near miss with death prompted him to give up skydiving

Recent Examples on the Web

British football’s death toll could have been a lot higher with umpteen near misses down the years, including more than 30 fans hospitalised at Leeds United’s Elland Road after a crush barrier gave way in 1967. —Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024

There have been two near misses in the Danish Straits. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024

Other signs to watch out for, per the National Institute on Aging (NIA), include confusing the gas and brake pedals, sudden lane changes, lots of new dents or scrapes on the car, multiple near misses, and speeding or driving slowly. —Jessie Van Amburg, SELF, 25 Nov. 2024

The job involves high stakes, and having a deficit of said employees fuels a number of near misses of airplane collisions, as close calls involving crashes happen on average multiple times a week per a 2023 New York Times investigation. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1a