miss 1
(mĭs)v. missed, miss·ing, miss·es
v.tr.1. To fail to hit, reach, catch, or otherwise make contact with: He swung at and missed the ball. The winger missed the pass. The ball missed the basket.
2. To be too late for or fail to meet (a train, for example).
3. To fail to perceive, experience, or understand: I missed my favorite TV show last night. You completely missed the point of the film.
4. To fail to accomplish or achieve: just missed setting a new record.
5. To fail to attend or perform: never missed a day of work.
6. To fail to answer correctly: missed three questions on the test.
7. To fail to benefit from; let slip: miss a chance.
8. To escape or avoid: We took a different way and missed the traffic jam.
9. To discover the absence or loss of: I missed my book after getting off the bus.
10. To be without; lack: a cart that is missing a wheel.
11. 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: took a shot near the goal and missed.
2. a. To be unsuccessful; fail: a money-making scheme that can't miss.
b. To misfire, as an internal-combustion engine.
n.1. A failure to hit or make contact with something.
2. A failure to be successful: The new movie was a miss.
3. The misfiring of an engine.
Idioms: miss fire1. To fail to discharge. Used of a firearm.
2. To fail to achieve the anticipated result.
miss out on To lose a chance for: missed out on the promotion.
miss the boat Informal 1. To fail to avail oneself of an opportunity.
2. To fail to understand.
miss 2
(mĭs)n.1. Miss Used as a courtesy title before the surname or full name of a girl or single woman.
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.
Usage Note: Many languages have courtesy titles that distinguish women based on marital status and age. In English, for example, Mrs. has traditionally been used for married women and Miss for unmarried women and girls. Equivalents in French, Spanish, Italian, and German are Madame/Mademoiselle, Señora/Señorita, Signora/Signorina, and Frau/Fräulein, respectively. Many women, however, find the focus on a woman's marital status (a distinction which isn't made in male courtesy titles, such as Mr. and Herr) offensive. Because of this view, in some languages courtesy titles that once indicated "married" are becoming more widely used as the polite form of address for all women. In Germany and France, Fräulein and Mademoiselle are no longer listed on official forms and documents. English is unique in its creation of a title, Ms., that like Mr., reveals nothing about one's marital status. Despite this move away from the traditional structure for female courtesy titles, in all cultures some women still prefer the traditional forms. If possible, one should refer to a woman with the courtesy title she prefers. However, when in doubt as to a woman's preference, the custom in English is to use Ms. and, in many other languages, to use the title formerly reserved for married women.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
miss
(mɪs) vb1. to fail to reach, hit, meet, find, or attain (some specified or implied aim, goal, target, etc)
2. (tr) to fail to attend or be present for: to miss a train; to miss an appointment.
3. (tr) to fail to see, hear, understand, or perceive: to miss a point.
4. (tr) to lose, overlook, or fail to take advantage of: to miss an opportunity.
5. (tr) to leave out; omit: to miss an entry in a list.
6. (tr) to discover or regret the loss or absence of: he missed his watch; she missed him.
7. (tr) to escape or avoid (something, esp a danger), usually narrowly: he missed death by inches.
8. miss the boat miss the bus to lose an opportunity
n9. a failure to reach, hit, meet, find, etc
10. give something a miss informal to avoid (something): give the lecture a miss; give the pudding a miss.
[Old English missan (meaning: to fail to hit); related to Old High German missan, Old Norse missa]
ˈmissable adj
miss
(mɪs) ninformal an unmarried woman or girl, esp a schoolgirl
[C17: shortened form of mistress]
Miss
(mɪs) na title of an unmarried woman or girl, usually used before the surname or sometimes alone in direct address
[C17: shortened from mistress]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
miss1
(mɪs)
v.t. 1. to fail to hit or strike.
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.
9. to omit; leave out.
v.i. 10. to fail to hit something.
11. to fail; be unsuccessful.
12. to misfire.
13. miss out, to fail to experience or take advantage of something.
n. 14. a failure to hit something.
15. a failure of any kind.
Idioms: miss the boat, Informal. to fail to take advantage of an opportunity.
[before 900; Middle English, Old English missan; of Germanic orig.]
miss2
(mɪs)
n., pl. miss•es. 1. (cap.) a title of respect prefixed to the name of an unmarried woman: Miss Mary Jones.
2. (used by itself as a term of address to a young woman): Miss, please bring me some ketchup.
3. (cap.) a title prefixed to the name of something that a young woman has been selected to represent: Miss Sweden.
4. (cap.) a title prefixed to a mock surname that is used to represent possession of a particular attribute, identity, etc.: Miss Congeniality.
5. a young unmarried woman; girl.
6. misses, a. a range of sizes, chiefly from 6 to 20, for garments that fit women of average height and build.
b. a garment in this size range.
Miss.
Mississippi.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.