miss

¹

[mis]

verb (used with object)

1. to fail to hit or strike.

   to miss a target.

2. to fail to encounter, meet, catch, etc..

   to miss a train.

3. to fail to take advantage of.

   to miss a chance.

4. to fail to be present at or for.

   to miss a day of school.

5. to notice the absence or loss of.

   When did you first miss your wallet?

6. to regret the absence or loss of.

   I miss you all dreadfully.

7. to escape or avoid.

   He just missed being caught.

8. to fail to perceive or understand.

   to miss the point of a remark.

verb (used without object)

1. to fail to hit something.

2. to fail of effect or success; be unsuccessful.

noun

1. a failure to hit something.

2. a failure of any kind.

3. an omission.

4. a misfire.

verb phrase

1. miss out on,  to fail to take advantage of, experience, etc..

   You missed out on a great opportunity.

2. miss out,  to omit; leave out.

miss

²

[mis]

noun

plural

misses 

1. (initial capital letter),  a title of respect for an unmarried woman, conventionally prefixed to her name or to the name of that which she represents.

   Miss Mary Jones; Miss Sweden.

2. (used by itself, as a term of address, especially to a young woman).

   Miss, please bring me some ketchup.

3. (initial capital letter),  a title prefixed to a mock surname used to represent a particular attribute of the person, especially one excessively prominent.

   Miss Innocent; Miss Congeniality.

4. a young unmarried woman; girl.

   a radiant miss of 18 or so.

5. misses,

   1. a range of sizes, chiefly from 6 to 20, for garments that fit women of average height and build.

   2. the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.

   3. a garment in this size range.

miss.

³

abbreviation

1. mission.

2. missionary.

Miss.

⁴

abbreviation

1. Mississippi.

miss

¹

/ mɪs /

verb

1. to fail to reach, hit, meet, find, or attain (some specified or implied aim, goal, target, etc)

2. (tr) to fail to attend or be present for

   to miss a train

   to miss an appointment

3. (tr) to fail to see, hear, understand, or perceive

   to miss a point

4. (tr) to lose, overlook, or fail to take advantage of

   to miss an opportunity

5. (tr) to leave out; omit

   to miss an entry in a list

6. (tr) to discover or regret the loss or absence of

   he missed his watch

   she missed him

7. (tr) to escape or avoid (something, esp a danger), usually narrowly

   he missed death by inches

8. to lose an opportunity

noun

1. a failure to reach, hit, meet, find, etc

2. informal,  to avoid (something)

   give the lecture a miss

   give the pudding a miss

Miss.

²

abbreviation

1. Mississippi

Miss

³

/ mɪs /

noun

1. a title of an unmarried woman or girl, usually used before the surname or sometimes alone in direct address

miss

⁴

/ mɪs /

noun

1. informal,  an unmarried woman or girl, esp a schoolgirl

Gender Note

See Ms.

Other Word Forms

• missable adjective
• unmissable adjective
• unmissed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of miss¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English missen, mis(e), Old English missan; cognate with Old Frisian missa, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Old High German missen, Old Norse missa “to fail to hit or reach”

Origin of miss²

First recorded in 1600–10; short for mistress

Word History and Origins

Origin of miss¹

Old English missan (meaning: to fail to hit); related to Old High German missan, Old Norse missa

Origin of miss²

C17: shortened from _mistress

Origin of miss³

C17: shortened form of _mistress

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. miss fire. fire.

More idioms and phrases containing miss

• heart misses a beat
• hit or miss
• near miss
• not miss a trick

Example Sentences

It meant she missed her regular funicular ride down the hill with a work friend on their commute home from the office in the centre of Lisbon.

From BBC

Stones has yet to play for Tuchel since he became England manager and missed the last two camps through injury.

From BBC

“Because when someone is missed, you talk about them.”

From Los Angeles Times

Lululemon's product cycles had "run too long" and had become "too predictable", missing out on new trends, he said.

From BBC

During the summer of 2024, at different times, both teenagers went missing overnight, and on one occasion it took 36 hours for them to be found.

From BBC

When To Use

What is a basic definition of miss?

Miss means to fail to hit something, to fail to meet something, or to feel sadness over the absence or loss of something. The word miss has several other senses as a verb and a noun.To miss something is to fail to hit or strike something, as with an arrow missing a target. If a runaway vehicle misses a stop sign, then it doesn’t smash into it.

• Real-life examples: If you throw a basketball to your friend and they don’t catch it, the ball misses. When a baseball player misses a baseball with their bat, they try to hit the ball with the bat but fail to. A bowling ball that doesn’t knock down any pins has missed them.



• Used in a sentence: Luckily, the falling tree branch missed me by a few inches and landed on the ground instead of on my head. 

Miss is used in this same sense as a noun to mean a failure to strike something.

• Used in a sentence: All of his attempts to throw the basketball into the hoop were misses. 

Miss is also used to mean to fail to meet something or someone.

• Real-life examples: If you are late meeting up with a friend, they might leave and you’ll miss them. If you take too long to get to the bus stop, the bus will leave without you and you’ll miss it.



• Used in a sentence: She missed the morning train and had to wait until the next one came. 

Miss is also used to mean to feel sad that something is gone or absent.

• Real-life examples: Parents often miss their children after they move out of the house. Everybody misses loved ones who have died. A person may miss a favorite food that is no longer being made.



• Used in a sentence: The freezing man missed the heat of Florida.