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miss

 - 9 dictionary results

miss

1  [mis]
–verb (used with object)
1. to fail to hit or strike: to miss a target.
2. to fail to encounter, meet, catch, etc.: to miss a train.
3. to fail to take advantage of: to miss a chance.
4. to fail to be present at or for: to miss a day of school.
5. to notice the absence or loss of: When did you first miss your wallet?
6. to regret the absence or loss of: I miss you all dreadfully.
7. to escape or avoid: He just missed being caught.
8. to fail to perceive or understand: to miss the point of a remark.
–verb (used without object)
9. to fail to hit something.
10. to fail of effect or success; be unsuccessful.
–noun
11. a failure to hit something.
12. a failure of any kind.
13. an omission.
14. a misfire.
—Verb phrases
15. miss out, Chiefly British. to omit; leave out.
16. miss out on, to fail to take advantage of, experience, etc.: You missed out on a great opportunity.
—Idiom
17. miss fire. fire (def. 52).
Use miss in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 900; ME missen, OE missan; c. OFris missa, MLG, MD, OHG missen, ON missa to fail to hit or reach

Related forms:
miss⋅a⋅ble, adjective

miss

2  [mis]
–noun, plural miss⋅es.
1. (initial capital letter) a title of respect for an unmarried woman, conventionally prefixed to her name or to the name of that which she represents: Miss Mary Jones; Miss Sweden.
2. (used by itself, as a term of address, esp. to a young woman): Miss, please bring me some ketchup.
3. (initial capital letter) a title prefixed to a mock surname used to represent a particular attribute of the person, esp. one excessively prominent: Miss Innocent; Miss Congeniality.
4. a young unmarried woman; girl: a radiant miss of 18 or so.
5. misses,
a. a range of sizes, chiefly from 6 to 20, for garments that fit women of average height and build.
b. the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
c. a garment in this size range.
Origin:
1600–10; short for mistress

Usage note:
See Ms.

Miss.

 
Mississippi.

miss.

 
1. mission.
2. missionary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To miss
miss 1   (mĭs)   
v.   missed, miss·ing, miss·es

v.   tr.

  1. To fail to hit, reach, catch, meet, or otherwise make contact with.

  2. To fail to perceive, understand, or experience: completely missed the point of the film.

  3. To fail to accomplish, achieve, or attain (a goal).

  4. To fail to attend or perform: never missed a day of work.

    1. To leave out; omit.

    2. To let go by; let slip: miss a chance.

  6. To escape or avoid: narrowly missed crashing into the tree.

  7. To discover the absence or loss of: I missed my book after getting off the bus.

  8. To feel the lack or loss of: Do you miss your family?

v.   intr.

  1. To fail to hit or otherwise make contact with something: fired the final shot and missed again.

    1. To be unsuccessful; fail.

    2. To misfire, as an internal-combustion engine.

n.  

  1. A failure to hit, succeed, or find.

  2. The misfiring of an engine.


[Middle English missen, from Old English missan; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots.]
miss 2   (mĭs)   
n.  

  1. Miss Used as a courtesy title before the surname or full name of a girl or single woman. See Usage Note at Ms.

  2. Used as a form of polite address for a girl or young woman: I beg your pardon, miss.

  3. A young unmarried woman.

  4. Miss Used in informal titles for a young woman to indicate the epitomizing of an attribute or activity: Miss Organization; Miss Opera.

  5. mis·ses A series of clothing sizes for women and girls of average height and proportions.


[Short for mistress.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

miss  (v.)
O.E. missan "fail to hit, fail in what was aimed at," infl. by O.N. missa "to miss, to lack;" both from P.Gmc. *missjan "to go wrong" (cf. O.Fris. missa, M.Du. missen, Ger. missen "to miss, fail"), from *missa- "in a changed manner," hence "abnormally, wrongly," from PIE base *mei- "to change" (root of mis- (1); see mutable). Meaning "to fail to get what one wanted" is from c.1250. Sense of "to escape, avoid" is from 1526; that of "to perceive with regret the absence or loss of (something or someone)" is from 1470. Sense of "to not be on time for" is from 1823; to miss the boat in the fig. sense of "be too late for" is from 1929, originally nautical slang. The noun meaning "a failure to hit or attain" is recorded from 1555 (O.E. noun *miss meant "absence, loss"). To give something a miss "to abstain from, avoid" is from 1919. Phrase a miss is as good as a mile was originally, an inch, in a miss, is as good as an ell (see ell). To miss out (on) "fail to get" is from 1929. Missing link first attested 1851 in Lyell. Missing person is from 1876.

miss  (n.)
"the term of honour to a young girl" [Johnson], shortened form of mistress. Earliest use (1645) is for "prostitute, concubine;" sense of "title for a young unmarried woman, girl" first recorded 1666. In the 1811 reprint of the slang dictionary, Miss Laycock is given as an underworld euphemism for "the monosyllable."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

miss

In addition to the idioms beginning with miss, also see heart misses a beat; hit or miss; near miss; not miss a trick.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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