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Meaning & use

missing the boat

phrase·Everydayinformal

Last updated

UK/ˌmɪsɪŋ ðə ˈbəʊt/
US/ˌmɪsɪŋ ðə ˈboʊt/

“missing the boat” is a form of “miss the boat”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. phraseidiominformalfigurative

    Failing to take advantage of a chance before it is too late, so that it cannot be had any more.

    Grammar: The verb changes with tense: miss, missed, missing the boat; there is no object after boat.

    Patterns

    • be missing the boat
    • risk missing the boat on something

    If you wait any longer to apply, you risk missing the boat.

    Investors who ignored the early stage of the company ended up missing the boat.

    I think we are missing the boat by not offering online classes.

  2. phraseidiominformalfigurative

    Being wrong or failing to understand the main point of something.

    Grammar: Often used as be missing the boat about something; less common than the first sense.

    Patterns

    • be missing the boat about something

    You are missing the boat if you think price is the only issue.

    The critics were missing the boat about what the film was trying to say.

    He kept missing the boat during the discussion.

Word forms

base formmiss the boat
third person singularmisses the boat
past tensemissed the boat

Common combinations

risk missing the boat
Don't wait too long or you will risk missing the boat.
end up missing the boat
They ended up missing the boat on the housing boom.
afraid of missing the boat
He was afraid of missing the boat on a good deal.
missing the boat on something
The company is missing the boat on mobile apps.

Synonyms and how they differ

miss the bus
Miss the bus is a close British equivalent, though it sounds more casual and is less common in American English.
lose out
Lose out is a plain verb phrase, while missing the boat stresses that timing was the cause.
miss the opportunity
Miss the opportunity is neutral and literal, but missing the boat is more colorful and implies the chance is now gone.

Opposites

seize the day

Word family

miss verb
to fail to catch, reach or take advantage of something
missed adjective
not taken advantage of, as in a missed opportunity

Commonly confused: missing the boat or miss the point?

missing the boat vs miss the point

Miss the point means to fail to understand the main idea, while miss the boat is mostly about losing a chance.

Practice

The tickets sold out in an hour, so anyone who waited until the evening was ___.

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