: sometimes successful and sometimes not : not reliably good or successful

Examples of hit-and-miss in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Her exit comes after a hit-and-miss string of Prime Video titles with high budgets: Under her tenure, for every spectacular Fallout came a lackluster Citadel or Red One. Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2025 Yet success and financial backing were hit-and-miss until 2019 with Stewart-Haas Racing. Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2025 The quality of the ensemble players can be hit-and-miss. Nina Metz, Twin Cities, 10 Jan. 2025 And there is, of course, uncertainty in partnering with any movie due to the hit-and-miss nature of Hollywood. Louis Biscotti, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024 This is fairly hit-and-miss — there are lots of references and hyper online deep cuts. Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 20 Oct. 2024 Some users have reported limited success flashing firmware using Samsung's Odin to avoid losing data to a factory reset, although that seems to be very hit-and-miss. Joe Hindy, PCMAG, 3 Oct. 2024 Theatrical releases have become pricey hit-and-miss situations, but the streaming results put Wolfs in the win column for Apple, which has signed Watts to script to direct a sequel. Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024 Instead of hit-and-miss iterative processes, Toney and his team are trying to uncover the fundamental chemistry and physics that make our next-generation energy storage and generation systems operate. IEEE Spectrum, 5 Apr. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hit-and-miss was in 1897

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hit-and-miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hit-and-miss. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

hit-and-miss

adjective
ˌhit-ᵊn-ˈmis
: sometimes successful and sometimes not : haphazard

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