as in narrow escape
a barely successful escape from something undesirable
a near miss with death prompted him to give up skydiving
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Recent Examples of near miss
Helicopter footage captured by News 4 showed near misses and high speed as the driver sped through intersections without so much as hitting the brakes.
—
Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Feb. 2026
The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports.
—ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
There is also the possibility the storm is a near miss to our south - keeping our forecast chilly and not as wet.
—Steven Sosna, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth survived a near miss last year after a group of high-level national-security officials erroneously added The Atlantic’s editor in chief to a private Signal group chat, where Hegseth shared military attack plans.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Feb. 2026
The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports.
—ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
There is also the possibility the storm is a near miss to our south - keeping our forecast chilly and not as wet.
—Steven Sosna, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth survived a near miss last year after a group of high-level national-security officials erroneously added The Atlantic’s editor in chief to a private Signal group chat, where Hegseth shared military attack plans.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for near miss
Noun
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The National Transportation Safety Board said the FAA and the Army did not share safety data with each other about the alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport and failed to address the risks.—
Mosheh Gains,
NBC news,
27 Feb. 2026
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In 2025, a pair of early close calls got him into the rest of the year’s signature events.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Mid-Atlantic and Northeast: close shave between a blizzard and a blustery day Farther north into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, forecast confidence drops sharply, with the storm’s eventual track playing a critical role in determining impacts.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
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Last week, for example, a satellite recently deployed by a Chinese rocket gave a Starlink spacecraft a close shave, apparently without providing the proper warning ahead of time.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
18 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/near%20miss. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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