Meaning & use
missing the point
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Meaning
phraseidiom
Failing to understand what the real or most important meaning of something is, so that your reply or reaction is off target.
Grammar: Often follows be or keep: you are missing the point, he keeps missing the point.
Patterns
- be missing the point
- keep missing the point
- completely missing the point
When you say the price is too high, you are missing the point; the issue is the quality.
He keeps missing the point of the exercise and counting only his wins.
I think the critics are missing the point of a film designed to be funny, not realistic.
Common combinations
- completely missing the point
- You are completely missing the point of her complaint.
- totally missing the point
- The headline is totally missing the point of the study.
- keep missing the point
- We keep missing the point because we only look at the numbers.
- miss the whole point
- If you do it for a prize, you miss the whole point.
- risk missing the point
- If we argue about the wording, we risk missing the point.
Synonyms and how they differ
- misunderstanding
- Misunderstanding is a neutral noun for a mistaken idea, while missing the point suggests ignoring the key issue even when the facts are clear.
- getting the wrong end of the stick
- This British idiom is lighter and friendlier, implying an honest mix-up rather than a failure to see what matters.
- being off base
- Being off base is American and focuses on being wrong, whereas missing the point is about overlooking the main idea.
- being beside the point
- Beside the point describes a remark that is irrelevant, whereas missing the point describes the person who fails to see what matters.
Opposites
Word family
- point noun
- the main idea or purpose of something
- miss verb
- to fail to notice or understand
- pointless adjective
- having no purpose
- to the point phrase
- focused on what matters
Commonly confused: missing the point or beside the point?
missing the point vs beside the point
Beside the point describes something irrelevant. Missing the point describes a person who has failed to understand what is important.
Practice
She said the film was bad because the actors were unknown, but I think she was ___ because it was about a true story.
Choose one answer.
Missing the point means ignoring what the film is really about. Making a point and pointing it out do not describe a failure to understand.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “missing the point”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.