miss

1 of 4

verb

ˈmis 

missed; missing; misses

transitive verb

1

: to fail to hit, reach, or contact

miss the target

2

: to fail to perform or attend

had to miss school for a week

3

: to leave out : omit

in such a hurry that he missed his breakfast

4

: to discover or feel the absence of

missed his wallet as soon as he entered the store

5

: to fail to comprehend, sense, or experience

missed the point of the speech

6

: escape, avoid

just missed hitting the other car

7

: to fail to obtain

ignorance misses the best things in this life

—W. R. Inge

intransitive verb

1

: to fail to hit something

took another cut at the ball but missed again

2

a

: to be unsuccessful

such a fine prospect that he can't miss

b

: misfire

the engine missed

3

archaic : to fail to get, reach, or do something

missable

ˈmi-sə-bəl 

adjective

miss

2 of 4

noun (1)

1

a

: a failure to hit

b

: a failure to attain a desired result

2

: misfire

3

chiefly dialectal : disadvantage or regret resulting from loss

we know the miss of you, and even hunger … to see you

—Samuel Richardson

miss

3 of 4

noun (2)

1

capitalized

a

—used as a title prefixed to the name of an unmarried woman or girl

b

—used before the name of a place or of a line of activity or before some epithet to form a title for a usually young unmarried female who is representative of the thing indicated

Miss America

2

: young lady

—used without a name as a conventional term of address to a young woman

3

: a young unmarried woman or girl

4

misses plural : a clothing size for women of average height and build

Miss

4 of 4

abbreviation

Mississippi

Phrases

miss a beat

: to deviate from regular smooth performance

the company changed ownership without missing a beat

miss out on

: to lose a good opportunity for

missed out on a better job

miss the boat

: to fail to take advantage of an opportunity

Synonyms

Verb

• blow off
• cut
• skip

Noun (1)

• bomb
• bummer
• bust
• catastrophe
• clinker
• clunker
• debacle
• débâcle
• disaster
• dud
• failure
• fiasco
• fizzle
• flop
• frost
• lemon
• loser
• shipwreck
• turkey
• washout

Noun (2)

• filly
• girl
• lass
• lassie
• missy
• nymph
• sheila [Australian & New Zealand]

Examples of miss in a Sentence

Verb

He swung and missed the ball completely.

The shot missed the goal by inches.

The batter swung and missed.

She took three shots and missed every time.

I would hate to miss this opportunity.

She could have joined us, but she missed her chance.

They missed a payment on their car loan.

He was in such a hurry that he missed breakfast.

Noun (1)

a television season with far fewer hits than misses

Noun (2)

a talented young miss who wants to become a writer

you should ask that young miss if she would like to dance

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Common Mistakes To Avoid While explainer videos are incredibly effective, there are some common mistakes to look out for to avoid missing the mark. —James Bryant, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024

The Panthers had methodically moved down the field, with Young converting three third downs on completions to running back Chuba Hubbard and rookie wideout Jalen Coker, who was back after missing three games with a quad injury. —Joseph Person, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024

Noun

Part Two Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImage Villeneuve was a surprise nomination-morning miss for the first Dune, but if the snub is repeated, few would be shocked. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2024

Another unexpected miss stemmed from allowing an employee to work remotely — long before that was routine — to care for an ailing parent. —Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English missan; akin to Old High German missan to miss

Noun (2)

short for mistress

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Noun (2)

1667, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing miss

• can't-miss
• give (something) a miss
• hit-and-miss
• hit or miss
• junior miss
• miss its/the mark
• miss one's calling
• miss one's vocation
• miss out
• miss the forest for the trees
• near miss
• never/not miss a trick
• too good to miss
• wouldn't miss it for the world
• you can't miss it

Kids Definition

miss

1 of 3 verb

ˈmis 

1

: to fail to hit, catch, reach, or get

miss a target

miss the ball

2

: escape entry 1 sense 2, avoid

just missed being hurt

3

a

: to leave out : omit

missed their lunch

b

: to fail to attend

missed three days of school

4

: to discover or feel the absence of

missed our old friends

5

: to fail to understand, sense, or experience

missed the main point of the story

6

: misfire sense 1

the engine missed

miss

2 of 3 noun

1

: a failure to reach a desired goal or result

2

: a failure to fire

miss

3 of 3 noun

 sense 1 is  (ˌ)mis,

məs;

 sense 2 is  ˈmis

1

a

—used as a title before the name of an unmarried woman or girl

b

—used before the name of a place, an activity, an epithet, or a quality to form a title for a girl who represents the thing indicated

Miss America

Miss Punctuality

2

: a young woman or girl

—used as a term of address

this way, Miss

3

plural : a clothing size for women of average height and build

Etymology

Verb

Old English missan "to fail to reach or get"

Noun

a shortened form of mistress