near-miss
Brush with disaster
A near-miss is an incident that almost resulted in harm, collision, or disaster but didn't: The plane had a near-miss with a drone.
The term also applies to attempts that almost succeeded: Her audition was a near-miss—they liked her but went with someone more experienced.
In safety contexts, near-misses are studied to prevent actual accidents.
Disaster narrowly averted
- swerveAbrupt directional change
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- fender-benderMinor vehicle collision
- brakingReducing speed deliberately
evasive action · incident · traffic · midair · separation · radar · flight path · close shave
Short of completely
- so closeAlmost achieved, but not
- runner-upCompetition's silver finisher
- second placeRanking below first
- shortfallFailure to reach quota
falling short · heartbreaker · photo finish · buzzer-beater · overtime loss · consolation · attempt · contender
Military weapons collectively
- shrapnelScattered explosion fragments
- blast radiusArea affected by explosion
- bombExplosive device or disaster
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
strike · target · explosion · incoming · bunker · foxhole · strafing · mortar
Inherent imperfection or fault
- inspectionFormal assessment of condition
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
- specificationDetailed technical requirement
- QCStandards verification process
reject · rework · variance · deviation · standard · margin of error · pass-fail · borderline
close call
Disaster narrowly averted
- swerveAbrupt directional change
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- fender-benderMinor vehicle collision
braking · evasive action · incident · traffic · midair · separation · radar · flight path · close shave · narrow escape
almost
Short of completely
- so closeAlmost achieved, but not
- runner-upCompetition's silver finisher
- second placeRanking below first
shortfall · falling short · heartbreaker · photo finish · buzzer-beater · overtime loss · consolation · attempt · contender · finalist
ordnance
Military weapons collectively
- shrapnelScattered explosion fragments
- blast radiusArea affected by explosion
- bombExplosive device or disaster
artillery · strike · target · explosion · incoming · bunker · foxhole · strafing · mortar · shell
defect
Inherent imperfection or fault
- inspectionFormal assessment of condition
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
- specificationDetailed technical requirement
QC · reject · rework · variance · deviation · standard · margin of error · pass-fail · borderline · threshold
- workplace safetyworkplace safety, PPE, safety standards, worker safety, goggles
- incident reportsincident report, accident report, injury report, damage report, police report
near-missdisaster
Sudden ruinous event
catastrophe · accident · crash · collision · tragedy
near-missdirect hit
Strike exactly on target
bullseye · dead center · spot on · way off · on target
near, miss, nearly, nearer, nearest, nearness, missed, misses, missing