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
One of those near misses was Positions, which still enjoyed a run of 43 weeks on the tally.
—
Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Few teams in pro sports feel the burden of past successes, and painful near misses, like these two franchises.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2025
Tremendous numbers of near misses at the airport and runway incursions.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
Thursday’s episode comes after a series of incidents in recent weeks, including near misses, crash landings and accidents, including the fatal collision of an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter in Washington, DC.
—Aaron Cooper, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
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Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Few teams in pro sports feel the burden of past successes, and painful near misses, like these two franchises.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2025
Tremendous numbers of near misses at the airport and runway incursions.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
Thursday’s episode comes after a series of incidents in recent weeks, including near misses, crash landings and accidents, including the fatal collision of an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter in Washington, DC.
—Aaron Cooper, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/near%20miss. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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