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
Her schedule got jump-started by that near miss at the 2023 Pan Am Games.
—
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2024
Captain Glenn explains to Entertainment Weekly how the sailing yacht encounters either a near miss or a collision due to some inclement weather.
—Gina Ragusa, EW.com, 8 Oct. 2024
In the search for his fifth major title since his most recent triumphs in 2014, McIlroy has had some notable near misses — including at the U.S. Open just last year — but Sunday may have brought the most painful moment of his career.
—Des Bieler, Washington Post, 17 June 2024
There have been so many near misses since Livingstone pummeled a 100 against Pakistan in 2021 off 42 balls at Nottingham (a game where England came up short).
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for near miss 
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2024
Captain Glenn explains to Entertainment Weekly how the sailing yacht encounters either a near miss or a collision due to some inclement weather.
—Gina Ragusa, EW.com, 8 Oct. 2024
In the search for his fifth major title since his most recent triumphs in 2014, McIlroy has had some notable near misses — including at the U.S. Open just last year — but Sunday may have brought the most painful moment of his career.
—Des Bieler, Washington Post, 17 June 2024
There have been so many near misses since Livingstone pummeled a 100 against Pakistan in 2021 off 42 balls at Nottingham (a game where England came up short).
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for near miss
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'near miss.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/near%20miss. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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