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miss

‘fail to contact’, ‘be late for’​

Miss often expresses the idea of failing to contact somebody/something, or being late for somebody/something.

  • How could he miss an easy goal like that?
  • The station’s about five minutes’ walk, straight ahead. You can’t miss it.
  • If you don’t hurry we’ll miss the train. (not … lose the train.)
  • You’ve just missed her – she went home five minutes ago.

An -ing form can be used after miss.

  • I got in too late and missed seeing the news on TV.

‘be sorry to be without’​

We can use miss to say that we are sorry because we are no longer with somebody, or no longer have something.

  • Will you miss me when I’m away?
  • He’s not happy in the country – he misses city life.

Note that regret is not used in the same way. Compare:

  • I miss working with you. (= I’m sorry I’m no longer with you.)
  • I regret working with you. (= I’m sorry I was with you.)

‘notice the absence of’​

Another meaning of miss is ‘notice that somebody/something is not there’.

  • The child ran away in the morning, but nobody missed her for hours.

miss not used​

Miss is not used simply to say that somebody has not got something.

  • In some of the villages they haven’t got electricity. (not … they miss electricity.)

In a formal style, the verb or noun lack can be used to express this idea.

  • … they lack electricity.
  • I am sorry that lack of time prevents me from giving more details.

missing​

Missing is often used as an adjective, meaning ‘lost’.

  • When did you realise that the money was missing?
  • The missing children were found at their aunt’s house.

We can use missing after a noun. This often happens in clauses beginning with there is.

  • There’s a page missing from this book.

In an informal style, a structure with have … missing is also possible.

  • We’ve got some plates missing – do you think Luke’s borrowed them?
  • He had several teeth missing.