near miss

Từ điển tiếng Anh - Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary

ˌnear ˈmiss noun countable usually singular [ near misses ]
 
HIT
UK US
1. ( also near thing ) a situation in which something almost hits something else
• A Boeing 747 was involved in a near miss with a private aircraft just south of San Francisco.
• That was a near miss - we must have come within an inch of that lorry!
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Events and occurrences ↑Accidents and disasters
 
HAPPEN
UK US
2. an attempt to do or achieve something which fails although it almost succeeds
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Failures ↑Accidents and disasters ↑Higher and lower points of achievement