miss

II. miss2 S2 BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: verb: ↑miss; noun: ↑miss; adjective: ↑missing]
[Sense 1-4, 7: Date: 1600-1700; Origin: mistress]
[Sense 5-6: Date: 1200-1300; Origin: ⇨ ↑miss1]
1. Miss used in front of the family name of a woman who is not married to address her politely, to write to her, or to talk about her ⇨ Mrs, Mr:
I’d like to make an appointment with Miss Taylor.
► Some unmarried women prefer to be addressed as Ms because it does not draw attention to whether or not they are married.
2. Miss Italy/Ohio/World etc used to refer to a woman who represents a country, city etc in a beauty competition
3. YOUNG WOMAN spoken used as a polite way of speaking to a young woman when you do not know her name ⇨ madam, sir:
Excuse me, miss, you’ve dropped your umbrella.
4. TEACHER British English spoken used by children when speaking to a female teacher, whether she is married or not ⇨ sir:
I know the answer, Miss.
5. give something a miss British English informal to decide not to do something:
I’d better give the coffee a miss. I’m due at a meeting in half an hour.
6. NOT HIT/CATCH [countable] an occasion when you fail to hit, catch, or hold something:
Will he score a goal this time? No, no it’s a miss.
7. YOUNG GIRL [countable] British English spoken a young girl, especially one who has been bad or rude:
She’s a cheeky little miss.