noun
target
TAH-giht
noun
1
Something aimed at, such as a mark used for shooting practice.
"He hit the bullseye on the target from thirty metres away."
"The archery range set up new paper targets for the competition."
2
A goal or objective that someone is working to achieve.
"The sales team hit their quarterly target early."
"Our target is to cut costs by ten percent this year."
3
A person, group, or thing that criticism, attack, or attention is directed at.
"The new policy became a target for public anger."
"She felt like a target after the article named her directly."
verb
1
To aim something, or direct effort or attention, at a particular person or thing.
"The campaign targets young voters with social media ads."
"Investigators believe the hackers specifically targeted the bank's servers."
How to Use Target
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomething you aim at or aim for — literally (a shooting target) or figuratively (a sales target, a target audience).
Common pairings
hit a target
miss the target
target audience
on target
Word Forms
targeted past tense, targetted past tense, targets plural, targets singular
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He hit the bullseye on the _____ from thirty metres away.
Etymology
From Old French targe, meaning a small shield, going back to a Frankish word for the same; the shooting sense grew out of that older "shield" meaning.