miss
1 of 4verb
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
W. R. Ingeintransitive 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 4noun (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
Samuel Richardsonmiss
3 of 4noun (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 4abbreviation
Mississippi
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]
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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. See More
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
Kids Definition
miss 1 of 4
verb
ˈmis
missed; missing
1
: to fail to hit, catch, reach, or get
miss a target
miss a deadline
2
: escape entry 1 sense 2
She just missed being hit by the car.
3
: to fail to arrive in time for
Don't miss the bus!
4
: to feel or notice the absence of
I'm enjoying the trip, but I miss my friends.
5
: to fail to take
I missed my turn.
Don't miss this opportunity.
6
: to fail to be present for
miss school
7
: to fail to hear or see
I missed what he said.
It's huge. You can't miss it.
miss
2 of 4noun
: failure to hit or catch
miss
3 of 4noun
1
capitalized —used as a title before the name of an unmarried woman
Miss Smith
2
: young lady
Hint: Miss is used without a name as a form of polite address to a girl or young woman. Do you need some help, miss?
Miss.
4 of 4abbreviation
Mississippi
misses 1 of 3
verb
1
as in skips
to fail to attend had to miss work for a week because of the flu Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- skips
- ignores
- neglects
- blows off
- cuts
- plays hooky
- passes over
- absents oneself
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- attends
- shows up (for)
2
as in misunderstands
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of I think you're missing the point Synonyms & Similar Words
- misunderstands
- misreads
- misconstrues
- misinterprets
- misjudges
- misapprehends
- misperceives
- mistakes
- misknows
- misconceives
- misdeems
- mishears
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sees
- knows
- gets
- understands
- catches
- appreciates
- perceives
- seizes
- penetrates
- grasps
- comprehends
- conceives
- apprehends
- makes out
- takes in
- groks
- savvies
- fathoms
3
as in fails
to be unsuccessful everyone knows that most of the new television series will miss and be gone before anyone notices Synonyms & Similar Words
- fails
- collapses
- flops
- struggles
- folds
- bombs
- flunks
- strikes out
- flames out
- tanks
- falls short
- declines
- craters
- crashes
- founders
- slips
- falls flat
- flounders
- washes out
- slumps
- skids
- dies on the vine
- comes to grief
- comes up empty
- misfires
- lays an egg
- crumbles
- comes a cropper
- wanes
- sinks
- falls on one's face
- miscarries
- implodes
- goes under
- self-destructs
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- succeeds
- goes
- delivers
- clicks
- comes off
- thrives
- wins
- prospers
- flourishes
- prevails
- pans out
- cooks
- works out
- goes over
- triumphs
misses
2 of 3noun (1)
1
as in girls
a female person who has not yet reached adulthood a talented young miss who wants to become a writer Synonyms & Similar Words
- girls
- missies
- fillies
- junior misses
- lasses
- sheilas
- lassies
- romps
- teenyboppers
- hoydens
- pixies
- nymphs
- subdebutantes
- schoolgirls
- bobby-soxers
- snips
- tomboys
- gamines
2
as in maidens
a young unmarried woman you should ask that young miss if she would like to dance Synonyms & Similar Words
- girls
- maidens
- maids
- demoiselles
- damsels
- sisters
- birds
- debutantes
- virgins
- mesdemoiselles
- chits
- fillies
- debs
- senhoritas
- colleens
- sheilas
- ingénues
- lasses
- ingenues
- lassies
- mademoiselles
- senoritas
- señoritas
misses
3 of 3noun (2)
as in failures
something that has failed a television season with far fewer hits than misses Synonyms & Similar Words
- failures
- disasters
- disappointments
- bombs
- flops
- busts
- losers
- catastrophes
- fizzles
- shipwrecks
- duds
- fiascoes
- washouts
- débâcles
- botches
- lemons
- frosts
- messes
- near misses
- debacles
- clinkers
- clunkers
- bummers
- turkeys
- dogs
- muddles
- shambles
- nonevents
- hashes
- has-beens
- nonstarters
- also-rans
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- hits
- successes
- smashes
- winners
- blockbusters
- phenomena
- phenomenons
- corkers
- dandies
- crackerjacks
- crackajacks
- jim-dandies