as good as missing

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "as good as missing" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to express that something is effectively absent or not present, even if it technically exists. Example: "With the deadline approaching and no progress made, my contribution is as good as missing."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Since the background check was erroneous, it was as good as missing.

The New Yorker

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

The successful applicants had qualifications just as good as Miss Spence's.

The Economist

The answer is that as good as Miss Wills was in 1926 she had not then come into her full powers.

The New York Times - Magazine

Nomura, which has a reduce rating on the bank, said: Looking at the strength of the results at US peers, meeting what we think of as semi-stale consensus is as good as a miss.

The Guardian - Business

Lou Jackson, Milford, Conn.: Your article about how our schools are only as good as our teachers is missing the point.

The New York Times

Although they're unlikely to be as good as the one he missed on Saturday.

The New York Times

What follows is a funny and revealing look at kicking clutchness and the psychology of playing a position in which you're only as good as your last big miss.

The New York Times

If you've been making do with even something as good as an Audyssey Audio Dock Air, you've been missing out.

TechCrunch

Is it reasonable to assume that the clinical outcomes of patients for whom post-treatment data is missing will be as good as those for patients with complete data or is it possible that patients with missing data are likely to have done less well (or better) overall?

Behaviour Research and Therapy

If all we can ever.say with confidence is "Missed again!" and "A miss is as good as a mile!", and the history of inquiry is a sequence of such misses, then epistemic pessimism pretty much follows.

SEP

A miss is as good as a mile, after all: and a near miss worst of all.

The Guardian - Books

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "as good as missing" when you want to emphasize that something, while perhaps technically present, has no practical effect or value.

Common error

Avoid using "as good as missing" when you mean something is physically lost or stolen; this phrase is better suited for situations where something exists but is ineffective or unusable.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "as good as missing" functions as a predicate adjective, modifying a noun by describing its state of being nearly or effectively absent. Ludwig AI shows that it often emphasizes a lack of utility despite physical presence.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

50%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "as good as missing" is a grammatically sound and relatively rare expression used to convey that something is functionally absent or ineffective, even if it physically exists. Ludwig AI confirms that it's often used to emphasize the lack of utility. It is most frequently found in news and scientific contexts. When using this phrase, ensure that you are referring to something that is not literally lost, but rather lacking in its ability to fulfill its intended purpose. Consider alternatives like "effectively missing" or "virtually absent" for similar meanings.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

effectively missing

Directly states the functional absence.

functionally absent

Stresses the lack of practical effect.

practically nonexistent

Emphasizes the near absence of something.

virtually absent

Highlights the effective absence, even if technically present.

almost nonexistent

Focuses on the scarcity or lack of something.

as if it were missing

Highlights the effect of absence through comparison.

tantamount to absent

Indicates equivalence to being absent.

as good as gone

Indicates something is imminently or effectively lost.

for all intents and purposes, missing

Formal way of saying something is essentially missing.

indistinguishable from missing

Emphasizes the difficulty in discerning its presence.

FAQs

How can I use "as good as missing" in a sentence?

You can use "as good as missing" to describe something that is present but has no effect or is useless. For example, "The data was corrupted, so it was "as good as missing" for the analysis".

What's a good alternative to "as good as missing"?

Alternatives include "effectively missing", "virtually absent", or "practically nonexistent depending on the context".

Is "as good as missing" grammatically correct?

Yes, "as good as missing" is grammatically correct and commonly used to express that something is functionally absent or has no practical value.

What does "as good as missing" really mean?

It means that something, although it might physically exist, is not serving its purpose or is so flawed that it might as well not be there. It is "tantamount to absent".