Standard Lemma guide

hit-or-miss

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Inconsistent, unpredictable, erratic; sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing with no apparent pattern.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, idiomatic, informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

dependent upon or characterized by chance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a haphazard plan of action
  • his judgment is rather hit-or-miss

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: haphazard

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Hungarian: próba szerencse — inconsistent, unpredictable, erratic; sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing
  • Hungarian: találomra — inconsistent, unpredictable, erratic; sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing
  • Portuguese: imprevisível — inconsistent, unpredictable, erratic; sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing
  • Portuguese: errático — inconsistent, unpredictable, erratic; sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing
  • Spanish: ensayo y error — inconsistent, unpredictable, erratic; sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing