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
The National Transportation Safety Board has said there were an alarming 85 near misses around Reagan in the three years before the crash that should have prompted action.
—
Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Such interactions between black holes or neutron stars (compact remnants of exploded massive stars) can be studied through the deflection angle, the energy released through the near miss and the momentum of the objects’ recoil—all of which may be discerned in gravitational waves.
—Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 13 May 2025
The incident came just months after a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people, and two planes were forced to abort landings at the same airport in a near miss that is now under federal review.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 8 May 2025
India won both the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan within the last ten months to make up for so many near misses.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
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.
Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Such interactions between black holes or neutron stars (compact remnants of exploded massive stars) can be studied through the deflection angle, the energy released through the near miss and the momentum of the objects’ recoil—all of which may be discerned in gravitational waves.
—Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 13 May 2025
The incident came just months after a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people, and two planes were forced to abort landings at the same airport in a near miss that is now under federal review.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 8 May 2025
India won both the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan within the last ten months to make up for so many near misses.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 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 28 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share