Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

hit or miss

adverb

Definition of hit or miss

  1. :  in a hit-or-miss manner :  haphazardly

See hit or miss defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image1358596246
Words About Word Play
alt-59760690a61d7
Trending: Trump Tweets, We Define: 'Beleaguered'

Examples of hit or miss in a Sentence

  1. I was learning Spanish hit or miss, mostly just by hearing my friends speak it.

First Known Use of hit or miss

1606

hit or miss Synonyms

Synonyms
aimlessly, anyhow, anyway, anywise, desultorily, erratically, haphazard, haphazardly, helter-skelter, irregularly, randomly, willy-nilly, at random
Antonyms
methodically, systematically
Related Words
arbitrarily, capriciously, carelessly, casually, indiscriminately, informally, offhand, offhandedly, promiscuously, whimsically; accidentally, fortuitously, inadvertently, unconsciously, unintentionally, unwittingly; disconnectedly, disjointedly, fitfully, intermittently, spottily, unpredictably; higgledy-piggledy, topsy-turvy
Near Antonyms
carefully, formally, gingerly, meticulously, orderly, punctiliously; deliberately, intentionally, purposefully, purposely

Learn More about hit or miss

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hit or miss

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up hit or miss? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

akimbo

play

set in a bent position

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  2. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  3. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  4. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  5. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

hit or miss

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Syn City

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

Don't dump out the bean water just yet...

image1358596246
Words About Word Play

Don't just eat your words—play with them!

alt-596f95fe451e7
'Drought' & 'Drouth' Take Us Back In Time

A variant spelling with a long history

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Syn City
Syn City

Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.

Play the game
Examples: hit or miss in a Sentence