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
The game was full of big plays, near misses and intense action, and Star photographers were on the sideline to capture it all.
—
Kansas City Star, 23 Nov. 2025
After nine long weeks of near misses, the curse has finally been broken by wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin, with social media personality Dylan Efron, influencer Alix Earle, and Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt close behind.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Nov. 2025
After four decades of near misses, he’s learned that killing an animal isn’t the best part of a hunt.
—Devon O’Neil, Outside, 15 Oct. 2025
If a couple of near misses hadn’t been slightly off target, Roldan could have added a pair of goals for good measure.
—Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for near miss
Noun
-
While there have been close calls in the past—in 2003, then-NBA commissioner David Stern threatened to cancel the W’s season during a labor dispute—the W hasn’t lost games to a work stoppage in its 30-year history.—
-
She nearly got booted during the first roundtable vote, a close call that seemed to leave her shaken.—
Noun
-
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.—
-
The Torreys are accustomed to, pun intended, close shaves.—
Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/near%20miss. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share