“miss” – English explanatory dictionary

noun 1. the title given to a girl or woman who is not married ○ Have you met Miss Jones, our new sales manager? ○ The letter is addressed to Miss Anne Smith. (NOTE: used before a surname, or a first name and surname) 2. a way of addressing a teacher ○ Miss! John keeps hitting me.

verb 1. not to hit ○ He missed the target. ○ She tried to shoot the rabbit but missed. 2. not to see, hear or notice ○ We missed the road in the dark. ○ I missed the article about books in yesterday’s evening paper. ○ I arrived late, so missed most of the discussion. □ you didn’t miss much the thing you did not see or hear, was not very good □ he just missed being knocked down he was almost knocked down 3. not to catch ○ He tried to catch the ball but he missed it. ○ She missed the last bus and had to walk home. 4. to be sad because you do not do something any more, because someone is not there any more ○ Do you miss living by the sea? ○ I miss going on those long country walks. ○ You’ll be missed if you go to work in another office. ○ We’ll all miss Jack when he retires. ■ noun not having hit something ○ He hit the target twice and then had two misses. □ let’s give it a miss let’s not go to see it

(mis), n.; pl. Misses (-sez). [Contr. fr. mistress.]
1. A title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a girl or a woman who has not been married. See Mistress, 5. There is diversity of usage in the application of this title to two or more persons of the same name. We may write either the Miss Browns or the Misses Brown.
2. A young unmarried woman or a girl; as she is a miss of sixteen. “Gay vanity, with smiles and kisses,
Was busy ’mongst the maids and misses.” Cawthorn.
3. A kept mistress. See Mistress, 4. [Obs.] Evelyn.
4. (Card Playing) In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.

v. t. [imp. & p. p. Missed (mist); p. pr. & vb. n. Missing.] [AS. missan; akin to D. & G. missen, OHG. missan, Icel. missa, Sw. mista, Dan. miste. rad.100. See Mis-, pref.]
1. To fail of hitting, reaching, getting, finding, seeing, hearing, etc.; as to miss the mark one shoots at; to miss the train by being late; to miss opportunites of getting knowledge; to miss the point or meaning of something said. “When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will acknowledge he judged not right.” Locke.
2. To omit; to fail to have or to do; to get without; to dispense with; — now seldom applied to persons. “She would never miss, one day,
A walk so fine, a sight so gay.” Prior. “We cannot miss him; he does make our fire,
Fetch in our wood.” Shak.
3. To discover the absence or omission of; to feel the want of; to mourn the loss of; to want. Shak. “Neither missed we anything … Nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him.” 1 Sam. xxv. 15, 21. “What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss.” Milton. To miss stays. (Naut.) See under Stay.

v. i. 1. To fail to hit; to fly wide; to deviate from the true direction. “Men observe when things hit, and not when they miss.” Bacon. “Flying bullets now,
To execute his rage, appear too slow;
They miss, or sweep but common souls away.” Waller.
2. To fail to obtain, learn, or find; — with of. “Upon the least reflection, we can not miss of them.” Atterbury.
3. To go wrong; to err. [Obs.] “Amongst the angels, a whole legion
Of wicked sprites did fall from happy bliss;
What wonder then if one, of women all, did miss?” Spenser.
4. To be absent, deficient, or wanting. [Obs.] See Missing, a. “What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.” Shak.