missing
adjective
miss·ing ˈmi-siŋ 
: absent
also : lost
missing in action
Synonyms
- gone
- lost
- mislaid
- misplaced
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The new director has provided the missing ingredient that was needed for the show's success. the missing socks turned up in the dog's special hiding place
Recent Examples on the Web On June 9, the Alabamians went missing after their unit came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, near the Russian border. 
Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 9 Sep. 2022 The death of a Texas mom who went missing in July was an accident, officials said. Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2022 The family went missing after leaving on July 6 to go to the pond on Indianapolis’ south side. Fox News, 8 Sep. 2022 After processing the scene for evidence, detectives arrested two 16-year-old suspects in connection to the murder on Friday night, one of them being the 16-year-old who previously went missing. Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2022 Missing children:Jeffersonville Police searching for teen girl who went missing in late August Contact Caleb Stultz at cstultz@gannett.com. Caleb Stultz, The Courier-Journal, 4 Sep. 2022 Liz Carroll initially reported that Marcus went missing in Anderson Township in Hamilton County. Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2022 Civil rights workers James Chaney, 21, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24, in went missing on June 21, 1964 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and their bodies were found six weeks later on August 4. Justin Gamble, CNN, 26 Aug. 2022 And out west, in Utah's Zion National Park, rescuers keep searching for Jetal Agnihotri who went missing during flash floods on Friday. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2022 See More
Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 9 Sep. 2022 The death of a Texas mom who went missing in July was an accident, officials said. Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2022 The family went missing after leaving on July 6 to go to the pond on Indianapolis’ south side. Fox News, 8 Sep. 2022 After processing the scene for evidence, detectives arrested two 16-year-old suspects in connection to the murder on Friday night, one of them being the 16-year-old who previously went missing. Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2022 Missing children:Jeffersonville Police searching for teen girl who went missing in late August Contact Caleb Stultz at cstultz@gannett.com. Caleb Stultz, The Courier-Journal, 4 Sep. 2022 Liz Carroll initially reported that Marcus went missing in Anderson Township in Hamilton County. Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2022 Civil rights workers James Chaney, 21, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24, in went missing on June 21, 1964 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and their bodies were found six weeks later on August 4. Justin Gamble, CNN, 26 Aug. 2022 And out west, in Utah's Zion National Park, rescuers keep searching for Jetal Agnihotri who went missing during flash floods on Friday. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing missing
Kids Definition
missing
adjective
miss·ing ˈmi-siŋ
1
: absent sense 1
Who is missing?
2
: lost sense 2
a missing book
missing 1 of 2
adjective
1
as in lost
no longer possessed the missing socks turned up in the dog's special hiding place Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- lost
- gone
- misplaced
- forgotten
- mislaid
- absent
- unknown
- castaway
- irretrievable
- irrecoverable
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- retained
- possessed
- owned
- loved
- valued
- protected
- treasured
- prized
- cherished
2
as in absent
not present or in evidence any sense of how real people talk and act is missing from this novel Synonyms & Similar Words
- absent
- lacking
- lost
- wanting
- nonexistent
- extinct
- vanished
- done
- over
- sparse
- inadequate
- perished
- insufficient
- departed
- finished
- obsolete
- defunct
- dead
- expired
- rare
- scarce
- lapsed
- uncommon
- passé
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- present
- alive
- active
- living
- going
- existent
- current
- thriving
- common
- apparent
- obvious
- evident
- prevalent
- prevailing
- conspicuous
- plain
- animate
- uncanceled
3
as in out
not at a certain place our church organist is missing this morning, so we'll have to sing without her accompaniment Synonyms & Similar Words
- out
- absent
- away
- gone
- retired
- truant
- AWOL
- departed
- vacationing
- abroad
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- present
- here
- attending
- in
- participating
- accompanying
missing
2 of 2verb
1
as in skipping
to fail to attend had to miss work for a week because of the flu Synonyms & Similar Words
- skipping
- ignoring
- neglecting
- blowing off
- playing hooky
- cutting
- passing over
- absenting oneself
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- attending
- showing up (for)
2
as in misunderstanding
to fail to understand the true or actual meaning of I think you're missing the point Synonyms & Similar Words
- misunderstanding
- misreading
- mistaking
- misinterpreting
- misperceiving
- misconstruing
- misapprehending
- misjudging
- misknowing
- misdeeming
- misconceiving
- mishearing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- getting
- seeing
- knowing
- catching
- understanding
- seizing
- grasping
- appreciating
- apprehending
- comprehending
- perceiving
- penetrating
- taking in
- making out
- conceiving
- savvying
- grokking
- fathoming
3
as in failing
to be unsuccessful everyone knows that most of the new television series will miss and be gone before anyone notices Synonyms & Similar Words
- failing
- collapsing
- struggling
- flopping
- folding
- bombing
- striking out
- flunking
- declining
- crashing
- foundering
- falling short
- falling flat
- slipping
- flaming out
- washing out
- tanking
- floundering
- crumbling
- cratering
- coming up empty
- slumping
- laying an egg
- sinking
- dying on the vine
- falling on one's face
- misfiring
- coming a cropper
- waning
- coming to grief
- skidding
- going under
- imploding
- miscarrying
- self-destructing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- going
- succeeding
- delivering
- clicking
- working out
- cooking
- thriving
- flourishing
- winning
- coming off
- prospering
- panning out
- going over
- prevailing
- triumphing