goal
Pluralgoals
Pluralgoals
- 1A result that someone is trying to achieve.
Like a destination you keep heading toward, even when the road bends.
His long-term goal is to start his own business.
The committee set several goals for the coming year.
UsageYou set, reach or achieve a goal; for an aim to do something, the goal is to + verb.
Similaraim, objective, target, ambition, purpose
Note
A word that began as something physical: Middle English gol meant a boundary or limit, and the Old English word probably behind it seems to have meant a barrier or marker. A goal was first a limit or finishing point, only later any end you work toward.
- 2The act of getting the ball or puck into the goal during play, or the point scored by doing it.
The striker celebrated after scoring his second goal of the match.
Both goals came from corner kicks in the second half.
UsagePlayers score a goal, often the winning goal; a team wins by two goals.
- 3An area in many sports into which players try to put the ball or other object.
The defender cleared the ball away from the goal.
The striker had an open goal in front of him, but he somehow sent the ball over the bar.
UsageFans sit behind the goal, but a goalkeeper plays in goal, with no article.
Similarnet
Note
Here the word is a place on the field. In racing it still means the finishing point the runners head for, close to the old "marker" meaning behind the sense of an aim.
Less common meanings
- 4To score a goal in a game.
The forward goaled from a tight angle near the boundary.
Players who goal consistently earn their place in the side.
UsageNo object: a forward goals, or goals from the boundary; in most sports people say score a goal.
Similarscore
Note
This verb belongs to Gaelic football and Australian rules football, where goaling is set against lesser ways of scoring such as a behind or a point.
- 5In grammar, a noun or noun phrase that receives the action of a verb: the subject of a passive verb or the object of an active one.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English gol ("boundary, limit"), from an Old English word *gāl ("obstacle, barrier, marker"), suggested by related Old English words meaning to hinder or delay. It is possibly cognate with Lithuanian gãlas and Latvian gals ("end").
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Goal comes from Middle English gol, meaning boundary or limit. en.wiktionary.org
- The proposed Old English ancestor is reconstructed as *gāl, meaning obstacle, barrier or marker. en.wiktionary.org
- Related Old English words meaning to hinder or delay support the reconstruction. en.wiktionary.org
- Goal is possibly cognate with Lithuanian gãlas and Latvian gals, both meaning end. en.wiktionary.org