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
This felt the most definitive of all the near misses with United players City.
—
Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
Most of the near misses also came from those teams.
—Chad Jennings, The Athletic, 3 July 2024
For those doing the math at home, that means 17.1% of the 41 runner-ups from 1982-2023 followed up their near misses with an NCAA championship.
—Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman, 7 June 2024
Sounds like a long way, but in space, that’s a near miss.
—James Wray, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for near miss 
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Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
Most of the near misses also came from those teams.
—Chad Jennings, The Athletic, 3 July 2024
For those doing the math at home, that means 17.1% of the 41 runner-ups from 1982-2023 followed up their near misses with an NCAA championship.
—Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman, 7 June 2024
Sounds like a long way, but in space, that’s a near miss.
—James Wray, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for near miss
Articles Related to near miss
Dictionary Entries Near near miss
Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/near%20miss. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
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