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. 一架波音747客机就在旧金山以南险些与一架私人飞机相撞。

That was a near miss - we must have come within an inch of that lorry! 真是死里逃生——我们只差一点点就撞上了那辆运货卡车！

an attempt to do or achieve something that fails although it almost succeeds