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
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
Thursday’s episode comes after a series of incidents in recent weeks, including near misses, crash landings and accidents, including the fatal collision of an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter in Washington, DC.
—
Aaron Cooper, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
The research showed how squirrels use their musculoskeletal system to adjust their body position, dynamically absorbing the impact of landing with their forelimbs and altering their mass distribution to turn near misses into successful perches.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2025
Two days ago there was a near miss to these premises and yesterday the premises was hit and today there was another hit, unfortunately with these casualties.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
The board's investigation found that near misses between helicopters and planes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) occurred at least monthly between 2011 and 2024.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
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Aaron Cooper, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
The research showed how squirrels use their musculoskeletal system to adjust their body position, dynamically absorbing the impact of landing with their forelimbs and altering their mass distribution to turn near misses into successful perches.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2025
Two days ago there was a near miss to these premises and yesterday the premises was hit and today there was another hit, unfortunately with these casualties.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
The board's investigation found that near misses between helicopters and planes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) occurred at least monthly between 2011 and 2024.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/near%20miss. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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