hit-or-miss

1 of 2

adjective

: marked by a lack of care, forethought, system, or plan
also : hit-and-miss

hit or miss

2 of 2

adverb

: in a hit-or-miss manner : haphazardly

Examples of hit-or-miss in a Sentence

Adjective your hit-or-miss schedule for taking your medication is going to land you in the hospital again Adverb I was learning Spanish hit or miss, mostly just by hearing my friends speak it.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Adjective
Next up was Giancarlo Stanton, the exemplar of our hit-or-miss moment: he’s amassed more home runs and strikeouts than any active player. Nicholas Dawidoff, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2024 The one gaming area that was hit-or-miss was Steam, which is still in beta on ChromeOS. Daniel Thorp-Lancaster, WIRED, 10 Aug. 2024
Adverb
Recommended by Our Editors Apple's New iPad Mini Has A17 Pro Chip, Apple Intelligence Apple Offers $1 Million Bug Bounty to Anyone Who Can Hack Its AI Servers Analysts: Apple Intelligence Features May Eventually Cost Up to $20 Per Month Apple's new natural language photo search is hit or miss. Emily Dreibelbis Forlini, PCMAG, 28 Oct. 2024 Like most companies that purport to offer maximum value for minimum price, Shark has products that can be hit or miss. Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hit-or-miss 

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1848, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1606, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hit-or-miss was in 1606

Dictionary Entries Near hit-or-miss

Cite this Entry

“Hit-or-miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hit-or-miss. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

hit or miss

adverb
: without plan, order, or direction : haphazardly
hit-or-miss
ˌhit-ər-ˈmis
adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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