miss the point
Fail to grasp
To miss the point is to fail to understand the essential meaning or significance of something.
Someone who misses the point may grasp peripheral details while the central message goes over their head: You're focusing on his tone, but you're missing the point—he's right.
The phrase often carries mild exasperation at someone's failure to see what matters.
- misinterpretUnderstand something incorrectly
- overlookMiss or commanding view
- inattentiveNot paying attention
- ignoreRefuse to notice
- confuseCause mental disorientation
unaware · mistake · irrelevance · neglect · misconstrue · miscalculate · off base · wide of the mark · miscommunication · misunderstand · obtuse · misalignment · disconnect · whoosh · fail · unheeding · oblivious · lost in translation
miss the pointget the point
Understand the meaning
understand · get it · comprehend · catch on · follow
miss the pointhit the nail on the head
To be exactly correct
cut to the chase · zero in on · hit the mark · nail it · see the forest for the trees
miss, missed, missing, misses, point, points, pointed, pointing, pointer