as in narrow escape
a barely successful escape from something undesirable
a near miss with death prompted him to give up skydiving
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Recent Examples of near miss
More than two decades of near misses have piled substantial pressure on people within the club and the fans supporting from the outside.
—
Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Yet after that near miss, Montreal delivered a direct hit and then another after Trevor Moore took an untimely slashing penalty.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026
Since then, Arsenal has flirted with a series of agonizing near misses, most notably pipped at the post by Manchester City in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Premier League campaigns.
—Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Yet after that near miss, Montreal delivered a direct hit and then another after Trevor Moore took an untimely slashing penalty.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026
Since then, Arsenal has flirted with a series of agonizing near misses, most notably pipped at the post by Manchester City in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Premier League campaigns.
—Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for near miss
Noun
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The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a close call involving an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a United Airlines jet approaching a Southern California airport earlier this week, authorities said Thursday, March 26.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
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The close call is the latest in a string of incidents involving helicopters and commercial passenger jets.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Villa rely on its revenue to push their limits, so going another year on the outside will mean player sales, budget cuts and very, very close shaves with financial sanctions.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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Speaking of a close shave, Cincinnati couldn't decide a winner between No 5.—
Rasputin Todd,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/near%20miss. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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