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
National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels has repeatedly raised concerns about the industry’s staffing shortage amid reports of crashes and near misses at airports, including the deadly midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport in late January.
—
Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 1 May 2025
But McIlroy has had a bunch of near misses at Augusta and a tumultuous relationship with the place, including total collapse in 2011 and seven top-10 finishes in the past decade.
—Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The incident took place in the wake of a handful of concerning aviation crashes and near misses this year, including the collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter near Reagan National on Jan. 29, which killed all 67 people in the two aircraft.
—Benjamin Deeter, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2025
The National Transportation Safety Board has said there were an alarming 85 near misses around Reagan in the three years before the crash that should have prompted action.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 1 May 2025
But McIlroy has had a bunch of near misses at Augusta and a tumultuous relationship with the place, including total collapse in 2011 and seven top-10 finishes in the past decade.
—Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The incident took place in the wake of a handful of concerning aviation crashes and near misses this year, including the collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter near Reagan National on Jan. 29, which killed all 67 people in the two aircraft.
—Benjamin Deeter, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2025
The National Transportation Safety Board has said there were an alarming 85 near misses around Reagan in the three years before the crash that should have prompted action.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for near miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for near miss
Noun
-
Commercial aircraft and drones began having close calls in 2014 when drones first started to become popular.—
Katie Nadworny,
Travel + Leisure,
30 May 2025
-
Though June Osborne had several very close calls over The Handmaid’s Tale‘s six-season run, Tuesday’s series finale ended with Elisabeth Moss’ character alive, well and ready to continue the fight against Gilead.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
27 May 2025
Noun
-
The floating, vibrating head gave me a really close shave, especially with my shaving cream.—
Malia Griggs,
Glamour,
16 May 2025
-
Their characters have had plenty of close shaves, although most didn't involve razors.—
Chris Cosgrove,
EW.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Near miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/near%20miss. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share