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 injuries and near misses described in the OSHA documents call into question the company’s claims about its innovative tunneling processes, which Musk has long said would make large-scale industrial projects cheaper and faster.
—
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik, Quartz, 26 Feb. 2024
The only recent consequence of these problems domestically until now is a series of near misses on runways.
—Debra Katz, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
Olivia Blodgett’s last phone – an iPhone 13 – survived some near misses before it, too, cracked.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
After a couple of near misses, ukuleles were what eventually brought Lisa Snow and Kevin Lilly together.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
That wisdom comes from more than a decade of false starts, near misses, and genre pivots.
—Mike Wass, Variety, 7 Feb. 2024
Officials have traded theories about the near misses, including staffing issues in air-traffic control towers, a lack of experience among newer pilots and a need for better technology.
—Peter Champelli and Andrew Tangel, WSJ, 23 Dec. 2023
These are some near misses—geopolitical indicators that demonstrate that this is an era that calls for influential leaders to hew to some temperance, humility, and restraint.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 23 Oct. 2023
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Four recent catastrophic building collapses and a near miss are raising concerns about the state of America’s aging buildings and questions about who, if anyone, is checking their safety.
—Abieyuwa Aghayere, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik, Quartz, 26 Feb. 2024
The only recent consequence of these problems domestically until now is a series of near misses on runways.
—Debra Katz, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
Olivia Blodgett’s last phone – an iPhone 13 – survived some near misses before it, too, cracked.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
After a couple of near misses, ukuleles were what eventually brought Lisa Snow and Kevin Lilly together.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
That wisdom comes from more than a decade of false starts, near misses, and genre pivots.
—Mike Wass, Variety, 7 Feb. 2024
Officials have traded theories about the near misses, including staffing issues in air-traffic control towers, a lack of experience among newer pilots and a need for better technology.
—Peter Champelli and Andrew Tangel, WSJ, 23 Dec. 2023
These are some near misses—geopolitical indicators that demonstrate that this is an era that calls for influential leaders to hew to some temperance, humility, and restraint.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 23 Oct. 2023
Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
Four recent catastrophic building collapses and a near miss are raising concerns about the state of America’s aging buildings and questions about who, if anyone, is checking their safety.
—Abieyuwa Aghayere, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'near miss.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/near%20miss. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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