I. miss 1 S1 W2 /mɪs/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ miss ; noun : ↑ miss ; adjective : ↑ missing ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: missan ]
1 . NOT DO SOMETHING/FAIL TO DO SOMETHING [transitive] to not go somewhere or do something, especially when you want to but cannot:
I’m absolutely starving – I missed lunch.
He missed 20 games after breaking a bone in his wrist.
She was upset at missing all the excitement.
miss doing something
He had missed being elected by a single vote.
2 . NOT HIT/CATCH [intransitive and transitive] to fail to hit or catch an object that is close to you, or to fail to hit a distant object that you are aiming at:
Every time she missed the ball she became more angry.
He fired, missed and loaded again.
The bullet narrowly missed her heart.
3 . FEEL SAD ABOUT SOMEBODY [transitive] to feel sad because someone you love is not with you:
She missed her family badly.
Will you miss me?
John will be sorely missed by his family and friends.
4 . FEEL SAD ABOUT SOMETHING [transitive] to feel sad because you do not have something or cannot do something you had or did before:
I miss the car, but the bus system is good.
miss doing something
Ben knew he would miss working with Sabrina.
5 . TOO LATE [transitive] to be too late for something:
We got there late and missed the beginning of the movie.
miss the train/bus etc
I overslept and missed the train.
6 . miss a chance/opportunity to fail to use an opportunity to do something:
He certainly wasn’t going to miss the chance of making some extra money.
Don’t miss the chance to see the breathtaking Dolomite Mountains.
The opportunity was too good to miss so we left immediately.
7 . NOT SEE/HEAR [transitive] to not see, hear, or notice something, especially when it is difficult to notice:
Maeve’s sharp eyes missed nothing.
Perhaps there’s something the police have missed.
It’s a huge hotel on the corner. You can’t miss it (=it is very easy to notice or recognize) .
You don’t miss much, do you (=you are good at noticing things) ?
John didn’t miss a trick (=noticed every opportunity to get an advantage) when it came to cutting costs.
8 . miss the point to not understand the main point of what someone is saying
9 . something is not to be missed used to say that someone should do something while they have the opportunity:
A journey on one of the steam trains is certainly not to be missed!
10 . AVOID SOMETHING [transitive] to avoid something bad or unpleasant:
If we leave now we should miss the traffic.
miss doing something
As he crossed the street, a bus just missed hitting him.
They narrowly missed being killed in the fire.
11 . I wouldn’t miss it for the world spoken used to say that you really want to go to an event, see something etc:
‘Come to the party.’ ‘I will. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’
12 . NOTICE SOMETHING ISN’T THERE [transitive] to notice that something or someone is not in the place you expect them to be:
I didn’t miss my wallet till it came to paying the bill.
13 . miss the mark to not achieve something you were trying to do:
Their efforts to improve quality have somewhat missed the mark.
14 . miss the boat informal to fail to take an opportunity that will give you an advantage:
You’ll miss the boat if you don’t buy shares now.
15 . without missing a beat if you do something without missing a beat, you do it without showing that you are surprised or shocked:
She handled all of their questions without missing a beat.
16 . sb’s heart misses a beat used to say that someone is very excited, surprised, or frightened:
Glancing up at Rick’s face, she felt her heart miss a beat.
17 . ENGINE [intransitive] if an engine misses, it stops working for a very short time and then starts again
miss out phrasal verb
1 . to not have the chance to do something that you enjoy and that would be good for you:
Some children miss out because their parents can’t afford to pay for school trips.
miss out on
Prepare food in advance to ensure you don’t miss out on the fun!
2 . miss somebody/something ↔ out British English to not include someone or something:
Make sure you don’t miss any details out.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ notice to realize that something is there or that something is happening, because you can see, hear, or feel it:
I noticed that he was rather quiet during dinner.
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Children don’t seem to notice the cold.
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‘Julie’s home.’ ‘Yes, I noticed her bicycle outside.’
▪ detect to notice something that is difficult to see, hear etc because it is very small, faint, or unclear. Detect is used about people and machines, and is more formal than notice :
X-ray telescopes can now detect virtually every type of astronomical object.
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He thought he detected a flicker of interest in her eyes.
▪ spot to notice something, especially something that is difficult to see or that you see for a short time only. Spot is more informal than notice :
Can you spot the difference between these two pictures?
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I’m glad you spotted the mistake before it was too late.
▪ become aware/conscious to gradually begin to notice that something is happening or is true:
I became aware that Mum was getting a lot older.
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Tessa became conscious of a feeling of guilt.
▪ can tell to be able to notice something because you can see, smell, hear it etc:
I could tell that she had been drinking.
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Can you tell I've lost weight?
▪ something/somebody catches your eye used to say that you suddenly notice something or someone because they are interesting, attractive, or good at something:
I saw this shirt in the shop window and it just caught my eye.
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Clarke caught the eye of boss Bryan Robson when he scored for Newry last week.
▪ observe formal to notice something as a result of watching or studying it closely:
Psychologists observed that the mice became more aggressive in smaller cages.
▪ perceive formal to notice something, especially that something is happening, or is true, or needs to be done:
The company quickly perceived the need for change.
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Doctors perceive that they do not have adequate time to spend with their patients.
▪ witness to see something happen because you are there at the time:
People have witnessed some great economic changes during the last ten years.
▪ miss to not notice something because it is difficult to see:
It’s easy to miss the entrance – the sign is hidden behind a tree.
II. miss 2 S2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ miss ; noun : ↑ miss ; adjective : ↑ missing ]
[ Sense 1-4, 7: Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: mistress ]
[ Sense 5-6: Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ miss 1 ]
1 . Miss used in front of the family name of a woman who is not married to address her politely, to write to her, or to talk about her ⇨ Mrs , Mr :
I’d like to make an appointment with Miss Taylor.
► Some unmarried women prefer to be addressed as Ms because it does not draw attention to whether or not they are married.
2 . Miss Italy/Ohio/World etc used to refer to a woman who represents a country, city etc in a beauty competition
3 . YOUNG WOMAN spoken used as a polite way of speaking to a young woman when you do not know her name ⇨ madam , sir :
Excuse me, miss, you’ve dropped your umbrella.
4 . TEACHER British English spoken used by children when speaking to a female teacher, whether she is married or not ⇨ sir :
I know the answer, Miss.
5 . give something a miss British English informal to decide not to do something:
I’d better give the coffee a miss. I’m due at a meeting in half an hour.
6 . NOT HIT/CATCH [countable] an occasion when you fail to hit, catch, or hold something:
Will he score a goal this time? No, no it’s a miss.
7 . YOUNG GIRL [countable] British English spoken a young girl, especially one who has been bad or rude:
She’s a cheeky little miss.
⇨ ↑ hit-and-miss , ⇨ near miss at ↑ near 2 (6)