going missing
Becoming lost unexpectedly
Going missing means disappearing, especially when the absence is unexpected or concerning.
The phrase emphasizes the passive or mysterious nature of a disappearance—someone doesn't leave or vanish by choice, they simply cease to be where expected: Three hikers went missing in the national park.
More common in British than American English, where go missing sometimes sounds slightly foreign to American ears.
- disappearedCeased to exist visibly
- misplacedPut in wrong location
- stolenTaken unlawfully
- abductionUnlawful seizure of person
- ghostingAbruptly ceasing all communication
slipped away · escape · runaway · hiding · accident · amber alert · wandering off · lost and found · witness protection · evasion · vanished · kidnapping · stranded · search party · presumed dead · fugitive · absenteeism · foul play
going missingturning up
Arriving or increasing
reappearing · showing up · surfacing · materializing · emerging
going missingstaying put
Remaining in place
staying present · standing still · sticking around · anchoring · keeping in touch