# aim

Pronunciation: US say "AYM" /eɪm/; UK

## Noun

1. An intention or goal; the result that a person, plan, or effort is meant to achieve.
   - Simple: A goal, or something you want to do or achieve.
   - _The charity's aim is to provide clean water to remote villages._
   - _She pursued her aims with a single-mindedness that impressed everyone around her._
5. The pointing of a weapon or other object along the line of its intended target; also, the direction given to anything, such as a blow or a remark, toward a particular object.
   - Simple: The way you point a weapon or throw something so it will hit a target.
   - _The sniper steadied his aim against the gusting wind._
   - _A slight tilt of the dartboard threw everyone's aim off._
6. The point a person intends to hit, or the object they intend to attain or affect.
   - Simple: The thing or spot that someone is trying to hit or reach.
   - _His aim was the gap between the two defenders, and the pass found it._
   - _The knot in the oak was her aim, and the hatchet struck just beside it._
7. A person's ability to point or throw accurately; one's skill at hitting a physical target.
   - Simple: How well someone can hit what they are trying to hit.
   - _Years of darts had given him deadly aim._
   - _The goalkeeper's save owed less to luck than to the striker's poor aim._
9. Initialism of AOL Instant Messenger. — Initialism of America Online AIM; AOL Instant Messenger.
   - Simple: Initialism of AOL Instant Messenger. It was AOL's program for sending instant messages online.
   - _College students in 2003 left AIM running all day in their dorm rooms._
   - _He set a song lyric as his AIM away message._

## Verb

2. To direct one's intention or efforts toward a purpose; to try to accomplish or attain something.
   - Simple: To try to do or get something, or to have it as your goal.
   - _Both governments aim to sign the treaty by the end of the year._
   - _She aimed at perfection in every piece she composed._
3. To direct or point something, such as a weapon, a blow, or a measure, at a particular object or target.
   - Simple: To point something at a person or thing you want it to reach.
   - _Regulators aim the new rules at banks that take excessive risks._
   - _He aimed the rifle at the tin can on the fence post._
4. To point a weapon that launches a projectile toward an object or spot, with the intent of hitting it.
   - Simple: To point a gun, bow, or other weapon at the thing you want to hit.
   - _The hunter aimed at the buck and waited for a clear shot._
   - _Soldiers learn to aim while controlling their breathing._
8. To direct a remark, criticism, or other verbal expression toward a particular person, thing, or group.
   - Simple: To say something so that it is meant for a certain person or group.
   - _She aimed her sharpest criticism at the board's secrecy._
   - _Late-night hosts aim their best jokes at whoever holds power._

## Noun

10. A conjecture or guess; an estimate formed without certain knowledge. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A guess about something you cannot know for sure.

## Verb

11. To form a conjecture or guess, especially about something one cannot know directly. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a guess about something without knowing for sure.

## Origin

The verb comes from Middle English 'amen, aimen' (to guess at, estimate, aim), borrowed from Old French 'esmer', from Latin 'ad-' plus 'aestimare' (to estimate); the compound was perhaps first formed in Medieval Latin, perhaps in Old French. The noun is from Middle English 'ame', from Old French 'aesme, esme'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/aim (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).