MISS | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of miss in English missverb uk /mɪs/ us /mɪs/

miss verb (NOT DO)

Add to word list Add to word list B1 [ T ] to fail to do or experience something, often something planned or expected, or to avoid doing or experiencing something: I missed the start of the class because my bus was late. Often I miss (= do not eat) breakfast and have an early lunch instead. You should leave early if you want to miss the rush hour. [ + -ing verb ] I only just missed being run over by a bus this morning. to avoid doing something

• avoidAvoid swimming in areas where sharks are known to congregate.
• evadePlease don’t think I’m trying to evade my responsibility.
• dodgeHe tried to dodge his military service.
• run away fromI didn't often run away from difficult decisions.
• shrink fromI've never been one to shrink from a challenge.
• sidestepThis is not a responsibility you can sidestep.

See more results » A2 [ T ] to arrive too late to get on a bus, train, or aircraft: You'll miss your flight if you don't hurry up. A2 [ T ] to not go to something: Students who miss a lot of school can find it hard to catch up. I'm trying to find an excuse for missing the office party. B1 [ T ] to not see or hear something or someone: I missed the beginning of the show. Her latest movie is too good to miss (= it certainly should be seen). I was sorry I missed you at Pat's party - I must have arrived after you left. [ T ] to not notice someone or something: You don't miss much, do you? Nobody else noticed that mistake. My office is first on the right with a bright red door. You can't miss it (= it is very easy to find). A big neon sign has been put up where nobody can miss it. A golden eagle is so large and distinctive that no birdwatcher, however inexperienced, could possibly miss it.

• Henri's latest show is simply too good to miss.
• In this game if you give the wrong answer you have to miss a turn.
• She has never missed a single episode of her favourite soap opera.
• He missed two practice sessions so he's out of the team.
• You'll have to make up the work you've missed while you were away.

Avoiding action

• abrogate
• abrogation
• avoid
• avoid something like the plague idiom
• avoidance
• elude
• end-run
• eschew
• evade
• evader
• evasion
• fiddle
• insure
• shirk
• short circuit
• shrink from something phrasal verb
• shy away from something phrasal verb
• sit on your arse idiom
• steer
• welch

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Late Absent Forgetting and forgetfulness

miss verb (FEEL SAD)

A2 [ T ] to feel sad that a person or thing is not present: I really missed her when she went away. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her. I still miss my old car. What did you miss most about home when you were living in France? [ + -ing verb ] I haven't missed smoking like I expected to.

• I miss my mom and dad a lot.
• You'll be sorely missed by everyone here, and we wish you success in your new job.
• She missed Spain and the languor of a siesta on a hot summer afternoon.
• It surprises me how much he misses his sister when she's away - after all, they do nothing but fight when they are together!
• I really miss seeing their happy smiling faces.

Sadness and regret

• anticipatory grief
• aw
• be/weigh on your conscience idiom
• bitter
• black dog
• cry
• doom and gloom
• feel bad idiom
• gloominess
• glumness
• guilt
• penitential
• prick
• prick someone's conscience idiom
• regretful
• regretfully
• repentant
• wound
• wrench
• wretchedness

See more results »

miss verb (NOT HIT)

B2 [ I or T ] to fail to hit something, or to avoid hitting something: The bullet missed his heart by a couple of centimetres. I swerved to avoid the other car and only just missed a tree. He threw a book at me, but he/it missed.

• The arrow missed its target and landed on the grass.
• How could he have missed the goal from that distance?
• The car missed the tree and ran into the field.
• I tried to throw the paper in the bin, but I missed.
• Luckily the egg missed his face by inches.

Failing and doing badly

• abjectly
• at-risk
• backbencher
• balls (something) up phrasal verb
• be on your beam ends idiom
• beam
• belly
• cliff
• fare badly
• fight a losing battle idiom
• flog
• flog a dead horse idiom
• flop
• hash
• pale into insignificance idiom
• pig
• rebound
• rot
• sink
• the rot sets in idiom

See more results »

miss verb (NOTICE)

[ T ] to notice that something is lost or absent: He didn't miss his wallet until the waiter brought the bill. Losing and loss

• action
• astray
• black hole
• disappear
• forfeit
• get lost
• kiss
• lose
• lose your way idiom
• loss
• lost
• mislay
• misplace
• misroute
• slip through someone's fingers idiom
• unaccounted for
• unrecoverable
• unrecovered
• walkabout
• wave

See more results »

Grammar

MissWe use miss as a verb to mean ‘not hit or reach something’: …

Idioms

miss a chance/opportunity miss the boat miss the mark miss the point not miss a trick not miss much

Phrasal verbs

miss someone/something out miss out missnoun uk /mɪs/ us /mɪs/

miss noun (NOT HIT)

[ C ] an occasion when something or someone fails to hit something or avoids hitting something: Well done! You scored eight hits and only two misses. See also near miss Failures

• another/the final nail in the coffin idiom
• basket case
• bloodbath
• brain freeze
• breakdown
• busted flush
• car crash
• dud
• epic fail
• failure at something
• failure to do something
• false dawn
• loser
• meltdown
• non-receipt
• non-starter
• omnishambles
• parody
• post-crash
• pratfall

See more results »

miss noun (NOT DO)

 give something a miss C1 UK informal to avoid or not do something: We usually go to France in the summer, but we've decided to give it a miss this year. See more

miss noun (GIRL)

[ C ] UK old-fashioned informal a girl or young woman, especially one who behaves rudely or shows no respect: You're a cheeky little miss! Apologize at once. Missnoun uk /mɪs/ us /mɪs/ A1 a title used before the family name or full name of a single woman who has no other title: Dr White will see you now, Miss Carter. Miss Helena Lewis Compare Ms Mrs [ as form of address ] mainly US or old-fashioned UK used as a form of address for a girl or young woman: Excuse me, Miss, you dropped this. [ as form of address ] UK sometimes used by children to address or refer to teachers who are women: Can I go to the toilet, Miss? a title given to a woman who wins a beauty contest, combined with the name of the place that she represents: Miss India/UK the Miss World contest

• Excuse me, Miss - you dropped this.
• "You can go and sit down again now, girls and boys." "Yes, Miss."
• Ask Miss Taylor to come to my office when she's free, would you?
• Let me introduce my colleague, Miss Sohar - she's in charge of marketing.
• The letter was addressed to a Miss M A Kirkwood, but we didn't know anyone of that name.

Royalty, aristocracy & titles

• accede to something phrasal verb
• accession
• agnate
• agnatic
• anointed
• ducal
• duchess
• duke
• dukedom
• earl
• MBE
• Messrs
• mister
• monarch
• monarchist
• royally
• Rt. Hon.
• Shah
• sheikh
• sire

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Marriage: marital status Teachers (Definition of miss from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

miss | American Dictionary

missverb us /mɪs/

miss verb (NOT HIT)

Add to word list Add to word list [ I/T ] to fail to hit or to avoid hitting something: [ T ] The plane narrowly missed power lines as it landed. [ I ] He threw a snowball at me, but he missed.

miss verb (NOT DO)

[ T ] to fail to do, see, or experience something, esp. something planned or expected when it is available: I wanted to see that movie, but I missed it. If you don’t hurry you’ll miss your plane (= fail to get on it before it leaves). You should leave early if you want to miss rush hour (= avoid it).

miss verb (REGRET)

[ T ] to feel sad because you cannot see a person or place or do something: Luis says he misses Puerto Rico very much.

miss verb (NOT FIND)

[ T ] to notice that something is lost or absent: He didn’t miss his wallet until the waiter brought the check.

Idiom

miss the boat

Phrasal verb

miss out missnoun [ C ] us /mɪs/ a failure to hit, catch, do, see, or experience something: Scurry blocked eight shots and caused misses on numerous others. Missnoun [ U ] us /mɪs/ a title for a girl or a woman who has never been married, used before the family name or full name: Miss Green Miss is also used as a form of address to get the attention of a girl or woman: Hey, Miss, you dropped a glove! A woman who has won a beauty competition is often given the title "Miss" and the name of the place that she represents: Miss Alaska/Miss America (Definition of miss from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) What is the pronunciation of miss, Miss?

Translations of miss

in Chinese (Traditional) 沒有做, 未做到, 未體驗… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 没有做, 未做到, 未体验… See more in Spanish evitar, perder, perderse… See more in Portuguese evitar, perder, faltar a… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian चुकणे, हूकणे, बुडणे… See more （人、もの）が（い）なくて寂しい, （授業などに）出席しない, （乗り物などに）乗り遅れる… See more özlemek, hasretini çekmek, kaçırmak… See more regretter, manquer, rater… See more enyorar, faltar a, perdre’s… See more missen, verzuimen, mislopen… See more பேருந்து, ரயில் அல்லது விமானத்தில் செல்ல மிகவும் தாமதமாக வருதல், எதையாவது செல்லக்கூடாது… See more (विलंब के कारण बस, ट्रेन या विमान का) छूट जाना, (किसी चीज़ के लिए) न जाना… See more ચૂકી જવું, ગેરહાજર રહેવું, કોઈ વ્યક્તિ કે વસ્તુની નોંધ ન લેવી… See more ramme ved siden af, komme for sent til, gå glip af… See more missa, bomma, sakna… See more tidak kena, terlepas, rindu… See more verfehlen, verpassen, vermissen… See more savne, bomme (på), ikke treffe… See more کھو دینا, چھوڑ دینا, چھوٹ جانا… See more промахнутися, не досягти мети, спізнитися… See more తప్పిపోవు/ బస్సు, రైలు లేదా విమానం ఎక్కేందుకు చాలా ఆలస్యంగా వెళ్ళు, దేని దగ్గరకైనా వెళ్ళకపోవు… See more মিস করা, কিছুতে না যাওয়া, কাউকে বা কিছু লক্ষ্য না করা… See more minout, chybit, zmeškat… See more meleset, ketinggalan, gagal… See more พลาด, ไปไม่ทัน, พลาดโอกาส… See more trượt, lỡ, lỡ cơ hội… See more tęsknić za, ≈ brakować, opuszczać… See more 그리워 하다, 빠지다, 놓치다… See more sentire la mancanza di, perdere, sfuggire (a qualcuno)… See more Need a translator?

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misrepresented misrepresenting misroute misrule miss miss a chance/opportunity idiom miss a deadline miss someone/something out phrasal verb miss the boat idiom {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of miss

• near miss
• cache miss
• hit-or-miss
• hit-and-miss
• miss a deadline
• miss out phrasal verb
• hit-or-miss, at hit-and-miss

See all meanings

• miss out phrasal verb
• miss someone/something out phrasal verb

See all phrasal verb meanings

• miss the boat idiom
• give something a miss phrase
• miss a chance/opportunity idiom
• miss the mark idiom
• miss the point idiom
• not miss much idiom
• not miss a trick idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

obviously

UK /ˈɒb.vi.əs.li/ US /ˈɑːb.vi.əs.li/

in a way that is easy to understand or see

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• English   
  • Verb 
    • miss (NOT DO)
    • miss (FEEL SAD)
    • miss (NOT HIT)
    • miss (NOTICE)
  • Noun 
    • miss (NOT HIT)
    • miss (NOT DO)
    • give something a miss
    • miss (GIRL)
  Noun
• American   
  • Verb 
    • miss (NOT HIT)
    • miss (NOT DO)
    • miss (REGRET)
    • miss (NOT FIND)
  NounNoun

• Translations
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