miss the mark

verb

Of a projectile, to fail to hit the target.

“The party's manifesto missed the mark and failed to attract people's attention.”

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Meanings

verbmiss the mark (third-person singular simple present misses the mark, present participle missing the mark, simple past and past participle missed the mark)

present singular third person misses the mark · participle present missing the mark · participle past missed the mark · past missed the mark

  1. literallyOf a projectile, to fail to hit the target.
  2. figurativelyTo fail to achieve the intended result.

    The party's manifesto missed the mark and failed to attract people's attention.

    1 more example

    In a statement provided to Ad Age, Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing, said the company “missed the mark.”

    2024 May 9, Emma Roth, quoting Tor Myhren, “Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush’ ad that ‘missed the mark’”, in The Verge
Cite this entry
APA

miss the mark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miss%20the%20mark

MLA

“miss the mark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miss%20the%20mark. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “miss the mark,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miss%20the%20mark.

Source: miss the mark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.