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
Now under the leadership of Pierre Sage, Lens are hoping to finally get over the line, after those painful near misses.
—
Tom Burrows, New York Times, 4 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
Still, despite these questions, unlike the previous three seasons of near misses, where Arsenal finished second to a more relentless rival, there is no real candidate who looks capable of unseating them this time.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
After two near misses on the Gophers empty net, Minnesota had a flutter in front of the Spartans goal in the final 10 seconds that went for naught before the final horn.
—Staff Report, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Tom Burrows, New York Times, 4 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
Still, despite these questions, unlike the previous three seasons of near misses, where Arsenal finished second to a more relentless rival, there is no real candidate who looks capable of unseating them this time.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
After two near misses on the Gophers empty net, Minnesota had a flutter in front of the Spartans goal in the final 10 seconds that went for naught before the final horn.
—Staff Report, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for near miss
Noun
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Highlighting the danger was a close call for a Calaveras County Sheriff's Office deputy.—
Cecilio Padilla,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Those close calls spurred hard conversations after the ’05 disappointment.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 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 24 Feb. 2026.
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