missing
/ˈmɪsɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
missing is spelled M-I-S-S-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, missing means “Not able to be located; gone, misplaced” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in missing?
| Letters | 7: M-I-S-S-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 112 times per million words; the 951st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is missing?
Missing appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce missing?
- /ˈmɪsɪŋ/
Missing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-missing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with missing
Also written: mis-sing (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of missing
- missings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does missing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not able to be located; gone, misplaced.
my missing socks
- 2
Not present when it (they) should be.
missing data point
- 3
Of an internal combustion engine: running roughly due to an occasional lack of a spark or other irregular fault.
noun
- 1
A value that is missing.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of miss
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Missing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | manquant, disparu |
| German | abgängig, fehlend, verschwunden , vermisst |
| Portuguese | sumido, faltante, desaparecido, perdido |
| Spanish | faltante, ausente, desaparecido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does missing come from?
By surface analysis, miss + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).