Wiktionary
vb. 1 (context of a projectile English) To fail to hit the target 2 (context idiomatic English) To fail to reach the result that was intended
Usage examples of "miss the mark".
You fool, he gasped, bitterly, How close you can be and yet how widely you can miss the mark.
If he did not miss the mark, she intended to dance with him before the night was out.
He would launch himself from across the room, so that she had no chance to stop him, and this time he would not miss the mark.
Did the competitor fail to clear the bar at a certain height, fixed according to his age and stature, did he strike the lay figure outside a certain line which was supposed to mark the vital parts, did his javelin miss the mark by a certain distance, the whip descended [33] with an unfailing certainty on the unlucky competitor's shoulders.
Many of the arguments that have long been leveled at religious thinking by scientists are aimed squarely at the Judeo-Christian tradition, and miss the mark when turned on Buddhism.