2 N‑COUNT Anything that is thrown as a weapon can be called a missile . □ The football supporters began throwing missiles, one of which hit the referee.
3 → see also cruise missile , guided missile
miss|ing ◆◇◇ /m I s I ŋ/
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If something is missing , it is not in its usual place, and you cannot find it. □ It was only an hour or so later that I discovered that my gun was missing. □ The playing cards had gone missing.
2 ADJ If a part of something is missing , it has been removed or has come off, and has not been replaced. □ Three buttons were missing from his shirt.
3 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you say that something is missing , you mean that it has not been included, and you think that it should have been. □ She had given me an incomplete list. One name was missing from it.
4 ADJ Someone who is missing cannot be found, and it is not known whether they are alive or dead. □ Five people died in the explosion, and one person is still missing. ● PHRASE If a member of the armed forces is missing in action , they have not returned from a battle, their body has not been found, and they are not thought to have been captured.
mi ss|ing li nk (missing links ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] The missing link in a situation is the piece of information or evidence that you need in order to make your knowledge or understanding of something complete. □ We're dealing with probably the biggest missing link in what we know about human evolution.
mi ss|ing pe r|son (missing persons ) N‑COUNT A missing person has suddenly left their home without telling their family where they are going, and it is not known whether they are alive or dead.
mis|sion ◆◆◇ /m I ʃ ə n/ (missions )
1 N‑COUNT A mission is an important task that people are given to do, especially one that involves travelling to another country. □ Salisbury sent him on a diplomatic mission to North America. □ …the most crucial stage of his latest peace mission.
2 N‑COUNT A mission is a group of people who have been sent to a foreign country to carry out an official task. □ …a senior member of a diplomatic mission.
3 N‑COUNT A mission is a special journey made by a military aeroplane or space rocket. □ …a bomber that crashed during a training mission in the west Texas mountains. □ …the first shuttle mission.
4 N‑SING [usu poss N ] If you say that you have a mission , you mean that you have a strong commitment and sense of duty to do or achieve something. □ He viewed his mission in life as protecting the weak from the evil.
5 N‑COUNT A mission is the activities of a group of Christians who have been sent to a place to teach people about Christianity. □ They say God spoke to them and told them to go on a mission to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
mis|sion|ary /m I ʃənri, -neri/ (missionaries )
1 N‑COUNT A missionary is a Christian who has been sent to a foreign country to teach people about Christianity.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Missionary is used to describe the activities of missionaries. □ You should be in missionary work.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] If you refer to someone's enthusiasm for an activity or belief as missionary zeal, you are emphasizing that they are very enthusiastic about it. [EMPHASIS ] □ She had a kind of missionary zeal about bringing culture to the masses.
mi s|sion|ary po|si |tion N‑SING The missionary position is a position for sexual intercourse in which the man lies on top of the woman and they are facing each other.
mi s|sion con|tro l N‑UNCOUNT Mission control is the group of people on Earth who are in charge of a flight by a spacecraft, or the place where these people work.
mi s|sion sta te|ment (mission statements ) N‑COUNT A company's or organization's mission statement is a document which states what they aim to achieve and the kind of service they intend to provide. [BUSINESS ]
mis|sive /m I s I v/ (missives ) N‑COUNT A missive is a letter or other message that someone sends. [HUMOROUS or LITERARY ] □ …the customary missive from your dear mother.
mis|spell /m I sspe l/ (misspells , misspelling , misspelled or misspelt ) VERB If someone misspells a word, they spell it wrongly. □ [V n] Sorry I misspelled your last name. ● mis|spell|ing (misspellings ) N‑COUNT □ [+ of ] …a misspelling of the writer's name.
mis|spend /m I sspe nd/ (misspends , misspending , misspent ) VERB If you say that time or money has been misspent , you disapprove of the way in which it has been spent. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [be V -ed] Much of the money was grossly misspent.
mis|state /m I sste I t/ (misstates , misstating , misstated ) VERB If you misstate something, you state it incorrectly or give false information about it. [mainly AM ] □ [V n] Look at the false police reports that omitted or misstated crucial facts. □ [be V -ed] The amount was misstated in the table because of an error by regulators.
mis|state|ment /m I sste I tmənt/ (misstatements ) N‑COUNT A misstatement is an incorrect statement, or the giving of false information. [mainly AM ] □ He finally corrected his misstatement and offered to reduce the fee. □ [+ of ] This booklet is filled with misstatements of fact.
mis|sus /m I s I z/ also missis
1 N‑SING Some people refer to someone's wife as their missus . [INFORMAL ] □ That's what bugs my missus more than anything. □ I do a bit of shopping for the missus.