wide of the mark
idiom
: not accurate or correct : not achieving the desired result
Their estimates were completely wide of the mark.
The results of the fund-raising were wide of the mark.
Examples of wide of the mark in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Right-back remains an area of need, although City sources say links with Inter’s Netherlands international full-back Denzel Dumfries, 29, are wide of the mark.
—
The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 7 July 2025
The suggestion appeared wide of the mark before a ball was kicked in anger and even more so now.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Short walked, stole second base and on his steal of third base the throw there was wide of the mark, allowing Short to score.
—Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 19 Mar. 2025
To describe him as somehow representative of the elite therefore strikes me as wide of the mark.
—Harper's Magazine, 27 Feb. 2025
Although the movie's predictions of interplanetary exploration ultimately proved wide of the mark, the continuation of HAL 9000's story remains pertinent.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2024
Early on, Humphries says, the Zestimate was frequently wide of the mark: In estimating what a house would sell for, the algorithm had a median error of 14 percent.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Jan. 2019
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The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 7 July 2025
The suggestion appeared wide of the mark before a ball was kicked in anger and even more so now.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Short walked, stole second base and on his steal of third base the throw there was wide of the mark, allowing Short to score.
—Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 19 Mar. 2025
To describe him as somehow representative of the elite therefore strikes me as wide of the mark.
—Harper's Magazine, 27 Feb. 2025
Although the movie's predictions of interplanetary exploration ultimately proved wide of the mark, the continuation of HAL 9000's story remains pertinent.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2024
Early on, Humphries says, the Zestimate was frequently wide of the mark: In estimating what a house would sell for, the algorithm had a median error of 14 percent.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Jan. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Wide of the mark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wide%20of%20the%20mark. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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