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
The National Transportation Safety Board said all of the data that shows the regular near misses and close proximity events at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was publicly available data.
—
Sam Sweeney, ABC News, 27 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
Catholic Memorial dialed up the offensive intensity, and after nearly four minutes of near misses or Colin McCarthy saves (28), Long’s shot tipped off McCarthy’s glove to make it 3-3.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
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Sam Sweeney, ABC News, 27 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
Catholic Memorial dialed up the offensive intensity, and after nearly four minutes of near misses or Colin McCarthy saves (28), Long’s shot tipped off McCarthy’s glove to make it 3-3.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 16 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 30 Mar. 2025.
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