near miss

noun

Definition of near missnext
as in narrow escape
a barely successful escape from something undesirable a near miss with death prompted him to give up skydiving

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of near miss Sučić helped Croatia take a 1-0 lead into halftime in a game where a couple of near misses prevented it from building a more comfortable lead. — CBS News, 27 June 2026 Japan finally breaks through After nearly 60 minutes of near misses, Japan finally scored the match’s first goal in the 57th minute. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2026 In 2025, 55 near misses between a commercial passenger jet and a drone were anonymously reported. — Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 After several heartbreaking near misses, rescue finally came on the fourth night when crewmember Leslie McNish spotted a distant vessel. — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for near miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for near miss
  1. close call
  2. close shave
Noun
  • After multiple close calls, Ivory Coast tied the match in the 74th minute with a superb run by Amad Diallo.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 June 2026
  • Ahead of her first-round match Tuesday, Ajla Tomljanovic described her close calls.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of close call
Noun
  • The shaver’s gold-foil covers are hypoallergenic and allow for a close shave without harmful lacerations.
    — Bria McNeal, Travel + Leisure, 19 June 2026
  • Villa rely on its revenue to push their limits, so going another year on the outside will mean player sales, budget cuts and very, very close shaves with financial sanctions.
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Definition of close shave

Browse Nearby Words

nearly
near miss
near misses
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/near%20miss. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on near miss

Nglish: Translation of near miss for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All