Miss — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun abbreviation /ˈmis/

Meaning & Definition of Miss

Miss (verb)

  1. to fail to hit, reach, or contact
  2. to fail to perform or attend
  3. to arrive too late for

Miss (noun)

  1. a failure to hit
  2. a failure to attain a desired result
  3. misfire
  4. —used as a title prefixed to the name of an unmarried woman or girl or one that uses her maiden name
  5. —used before the name of a place or of a line of activity or before some epithet to form a title for a usually young unmarried female who is representative of the thing indicated
  6. young lady —used without a name as a conventional term of address to a young woman

Miss (abbreviation)

  1. Mississippi

Miss (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to fail to attend

    "had to miss work for a week because of the flu"

    similar: blow off, cut, skip, absent oneself, play hooky
    related: ignore, neglect, pass over
    opposite: attend, show up (for)

  2. to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of

    "I think you're missing the point"

    similar: misapprehend, misconstrue, misinterpret, misknow, misperceive, misread, mistake, misunderstand
    related: misconceive, misdeem, misjudge, mishear
    opposite: appreciate, apprehend, catch, comprehend, conceive, fathom, get, grasp, grok, know, make out, penetrate, perceive, savvy, see, seize, take in, understand

  3. to be unsuccessful

    "everyone knows that most of the new television series will miss and be gone before anyone notices"

    similar: bomb, collapse, crater, fail, flame out, flop, flunk, fold, founder, strike out, tank, wash out, come a cropper, come to grief, come up empty, die on the vine, fall flat, fall on one's face, fall short, lay an egg
    related: flounder, struggle, decline, sink, skid, slip, slump, wane, crash, crumble, miscarry, misfire, go under, implode, self-destruct
    opposite: click, come off, deliver, go, go over, pan out, succeed, work out
    near: cook, flourish, prosper, thrive, prevail, triumph, win

Miss (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a female person who has not yet reached adulthood

    "a talented young miss who wants to become a writer"

    similar: filly, girl, lass, lassie, missy, nymph, sheila (Australian & New Zealand)
    related: bobby-soxer, junior miss, schoolgirl, subdebutante, teenybopper, gamine, hoyden, pixie, romp, snip, tomboy

  2. a young unmarried woman

    "you should ask that young miss if she would like to dance"

    similar: damsel, demoiselle, girl, maid, maiden
    related: virgin, deb, debutante, ingenue, bird (chiefly British), chit, filly, lass, lassie, sheila (Australian & New Zealand), sister, colleen, mademoiselle, senhorita, senorita

  3. something that has failed

    "a television season with far fewer hits than misses"

    similar: bomb, bummer, bust, catastrophe, clinker, clunker, debacle, disaster, dud, failure, fiasco, fizzle, flop, frost, lemon, loser, shipwreck, turkey, washout
    related: also-ran, disappointment, dog, has-been, near miss, botch, hash, mess, muddle, shambles, nonevent, nonstarter
    opposite: blockbuster, hit, smash, success, winner
    near: corker, crackerjack, dandy, jim-dandy, phenomenon

Related Entry: Miss out on (phrase)

Miss out on is a different word from Miss. The synonyms below are for miss out on, not for miss.

  1. to miss the opportunity or obligation

    "She did her work in a hurry, not wanting to miss out on her friend's birthday dinner."

    similar: fail, forget, neglect, omit
    related: disregard, ignore, overlook, overpass, pass over, pretermit, slight, slide, slip, default, skip
    near: heed, mind, remember, keep, observe, carry out, do, execute, perform, practice, discharge, fulfill, meet, satisfy, comply (with)

Related Entry: Miss out (verb)

Miss out is a different word from Miss. The synonyms below are for miss out, not for miss.

  1. as in leave (out), exclude

    similar: exclude, leave (out), omit, ban, bar, debar, preclude, prevent, prohibit, deny, refuse, reject, eliminate, except, rule out, lose, mislay, misplace
    opposite: carry, comprehend, contain, embrace, encompass, entail, include, involve, number, subsume, take in, comprise, consist (of), bracket

Related Entry: Can't-miss (adjective)

Can't-miss is a different word from Miss. The synonyms below are for can't-miss, not for miss.

  1. not likely to fail

    "my uncle's willingness to see every get-rich-quick scheme as a can't-miss opportunity"

    similar: certain, fail-safe, infallible, sure, surefire, unfailing
    related: dependable, reliable, deadly, unerring
    opposite: fallible
    near: doubtful, questionable, uncertain

Related Entry: Hit-or-miss (adjective)

Hit-or-miss is a different word from Miss. The synonyms below are for hit-or-miss, not for miss.

  1. lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern

    "your hit-or-miss schedule for taking your medication is going to land you in the hospital again"

    similar: aimless, arbitrary, catch-as-catch-can, desultory, erratic, haphazard, helter-skelter, random, scattered, slapdash, stray
    related: accidental, casual, chance, chancy, contingent, fluky, fortuitous, inadvertent, incidental, lucky, unconsidered, unintended, unintentional, unplanned, unpremeditated, scattershot, shotgun, irregular, odd, sporadic, spot, directionless, objectless, purposeless, indiscriminate, unsystematic, undirected, disorderly, disorganized, undiscriminating, unselective
    opposite: methodical, nonrandom, orderly, organized, regular, systematic, systematized
    near: established, fixed, regular, set, stable, steady, constant, continuous, even, arranged, managed, orchestrated, ordered, planned, aware, conscious, deliberate, purposeful, thoughtful, willful

Related Entry: Hit or miss (adverb)

Hit or miss is a different word from Miss. The synonyms below are for hit or miss, not for miss.

  1. without definite aim, direction, rule, or method

    "I was learning Spanish hit or miss, mostly just by hearing my friends speak it"

    similar: aimlessly, anyhow, anyway, anywise, desultorily, erratically, haphazard, haphazardly, helter-skelter, irregularly, randomly, willy-nilly, at random
    related: arbitrarily, capriciously, carelessly, casually, indiscriminately, informally, offhand, offhandedly, promiscuously, whimsically, accidentally, fortuitously, inadvertently, unconsciously, unintentionally, unwittingly, disconnectedly, disjointedly, fitfully, intermittently, spottily, unpredictably, higgledy-piggledy, topsy-turvy
    opposite: methodically, systematically
    near: carefully, formally, gingerly, meticulously, orderly, punctiliously, deliberately, intentionally, purposefully, purposely

Related Entry: Near miss (noun)

Near miss is a different word from Miss. The synonyms below are for near miss, not for miss.

  1. a barely successful escape from something undesirable

    "a near miss with death prompted him to give up skydiving"

    similar: close call, close shave, hairbreadth escape, narrow escape, near escape
    related: squeaker
    near: misfire

Related Entry: Hit-and-miss (adjective)

Hit-and-miss is a different word from Miss. The synonyms below are for hit-and-miss, not for miss.

  1. as in hit-or-miss, haphazard

    similar: aimless, arbitrary, desultory, haphazard, hit-or-miss, odd, random, scattered, slapdash, stray, broken, disconnected, fragmentary, interrupted, capricious, changeful, changing, flickery, fluctuating, fluid, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, temperamental, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unstable, varying, wavering, convulsive, sudden, violent, changeable, fickle, variable, volatile, aperiodic, casual, catchy, choppy, discontinuous, episodic, erratic, fitful, intermittent, irregular, occasional, spasmodic, spastic, sporadic, spotty, unsteady
    opposite: constant, continuous, habitual, periodic, regular, repeated, steady, changeless, equable, even, stable, stationary, uniform, unchanging, unvarying, unwavering, methodical, orderly, systematic, unrelenting, unremitting

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Miss

The most common words with a similar meaning to Miss:

Australian & New Zealand: sheila
blow off, cut, skip, misapprehend, misconstrue, misinterpret, misknow, misperceive, misread, mistake, misunderstand, bomb, collapse, crater, fail, flame out, flop, flunk, fold, founder, strike out, tank, wash out, absent oneself, play hooky, come a cropper, come to grief, come up empty, die on the vine, fall flat, fall on one's face, fall short, lay an egg, filly, girl, lass, lassie, missy, nymph, damsel

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Miss

Words with the opposite meaning of Miss:

attend, show up (for), appreciate, apprehend, catch, comprehend, conceive, fathom, get, grasp, grok, know, make out, penetrate, perceive, savvy, see, seize, take in, understand, click, come off, deliver, go, go over, pan out, succeed, work out, blockbuster, hit

Related Words for Miss

ignore, neglect, pass over, misconceive, misdeem, misjudge, mishear, flounder, struggle, decline, sink, skid, slip, slump, wane, crash, crumble, miscarry, misfire, go under, implode, self-destruct, bobby-soxer, junior miss, schoolgirl, subdebutante, teenybopper, gamine, hoyden, pixie

Near Antonyms of Miss

cook, flourish, prosper, thrive, prevail, triumph, win, corker, crackerjack, dandy, jim-dandy, phenomenon

Word Forms of Miss

Inflections: missed, missing, misses

Derived words: missable (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Miss

Middle English, from Old English missan; akin to Old High German missan to miss

First known use: before 12th centuryt

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Miss

Words & Phrases Containing Miss

miss a beat, miss out on, miss out, miss the boat, miss its/the mark, miss one's calling

Frequently Asked Questions about Miss

What does "Miss" mean?

"Miss" means to fail to hit, reach, or contact. As an a verb, a noun and an abbreviation, it is defined as: to fail to hit, reach, or contact. It has 6 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Miss"?

Other words for "Miss" include blow off, cut, skip, misapprehend, misconstrue, misinterpret, misknow and misperceive. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Miss" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Miss"?

There are 117 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Miss". Common alternatives include blow off, cut, skip, misapprehend, misconstrue, misinterpret, misknow, misperceive, misread and mistake.

What is the opposite of "Miss"?

Antonyms of "Miss" include attend, show up (for), appreciate, apprehend, catch, comprehend, conceive and fathom. Near antonyms include cook, flourish, prosper and thrive.

How do you use "Miss" in a sentence?

Examples of "Miss" in a sentence: "had to miss work for a week because of the flu"; "I think you're missing the point"; "everyone knows that most of the new television series will miss and be gone before anyone notices".

Is "Miss" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Miss" can be used as a verb, a noun and an abbreviation, depending on the context.

Is "Miss" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Miss" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Miss"?

"Miss" is pronounced /ˈmis/.