Meaning & use
missed
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“missed” is a form of “miss”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Did not hit, catch, or reach something you were aiming at or trying to get to.
Grammar: Usually takes an object: missed the ball. It can stand alone when the aim fails: the shot missed.
Patterns
- miss something
- miss by something
She swung hard but missed the ball completely.
The arrow missed the target by a few inches.
He missed the last step and stumbled on the stairs.
verbtransitive
Arrived too late for a vehicle, event, or chance, or did not attend it.
Grammar: Always takes an object: missed the bus, missed the meeting.
Patterns
- miss a bus/train/flight
- miss a deadline
- miss out on something
We missed the last train and had to take a taxi home.
Tom missed the meeting because his alarm did not ring.
I missed the first ten minutes of the film.
verbtransitive
Felt sad because someone or something was no longer with you or available.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a person: I missed my sister. It can be followed by an -ing form: I missed living by the sea.
Patterns
- miss someone
- miss doing something
Maria missed her grandparents while she studied abroad.
He missed having a garden after moving into the apartment.
The whole team missed their old coach.
verbtransitive
Failed to notice, hear, or understand something.
Grammar: Takes an object: she missed the joke.
Patterns
- miss the point
- miss something obvious
I must have missed the sign, because we ended up in the wrong town.
He missed the joke completely and just stared at us.
The editor missed three spelling errors on the first page.
Word forms
| base form | miss |
|---|---|
| third person singular | misses |
| past tense | missed |
| past participle | missed |
| -ing form | missing |
Common combinations
- missed opportunity
- Not applying for the scholarship was a missed opportunity.
- missed the deadline
- The company missed the deadline by two weeks.
- missed the point
- The critics missed the point of the film entirely.
- narrowly missed
- The truck narrowly missed a cyclist at the corner.
- missed a call
- I missed a call from my landlord this morning.
- missed you
- We missed you at the party last night.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overlooked
- Overlooked means failed to see or consider something, and does not cover missing a bus or feeling the lack of a person.
- skipped
- Skipped suggests you chose not to attend or do something, whereas missed usually suggests you did not intend to.
- longed for
- Longed for is stronger and more literary than missed, and it can describe wanting something you have never had.
- failed to hit
- Failed to hit is a plain, neutral phrase for the aiming sense only, while missed also covers many other senses.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: missed or mist?
missed vs mist
Mist is a thin cloud of water droplets near the ground. It sounds the same as missed, but it is a noun and unrelated in meaning.
Practice
I ___ the bus by one minute, so I was late for work.
Choose one answer.
Missed is the verb used when you arrive too late for a bus, train, or flight. Left would mean you departed from the bus, and lost does not combine with a bus in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “missed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.