hit-and-miss

A form of hit-or-miss — Inconsistent, unpredictable, erratic; sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing with no apparent pattern.

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Meanings

adjectivehit-and-miss (comparative more hit-and-miss, superlative most hit-and-miss)

comparative more hit-and-miss · superlative most hit-and-miss

  1. UKalternativeAlternative form of hit-or-miss.

    The upgrade from Channel 4 cult hit to Netflix blockbuster gave Charlie Brooker’s hit-and-miss dystopia anthology Black Mirror bigger stars, a bigger budget and, most notably, a far bigger audience.

    2021 March 31, Benjamin Lee, “Made for Love review – Black Mirror-esque comedy needs an upgrade”, in The Guardian
    1 more example

    But garbage, ashes, tin cans, rubbish, paper, packing, stable refuse, things which go so far to make a community less lovely and less livable are gotten rid of in the most hit and miss fashion, if at all.

    1921, Dr. W.F. Bleifuss, “Report of Committee on Garbage and Refuse Disposal”, in Minnesota Municipalities, volumes 6-8, page 125
Cite this entry
APA

hit-and-miss. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit-and-miss

MLA

“hit-and-miss.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit-and-miss. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hit-and-miss,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hit-and-miss.

Source: hit-and-miss on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.