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

: close call

Synonyms

• close call
• close shave

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 push to review safety at airports comes after the deadly crash over the Potomac River earlier this year, and the dozen other aviation shake-ups following that, including a plane flipping upside down upon landing, near misses, and engines catching on fire. —Annabella Rosciglione, The Washington Examiner, 23 Apr. 2025

Over the last decade, drones accounted for 51% — 122 of 240 — of reported near misses, according to the AP's analysis. —CBS News, 21 Apr. 2025

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

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for near miss

• abyss
• amiss
• chlamys
• dismiss
• premiss
• remiss
• bis
• bliss
• criss
• dis
• diss
• hiss