target
Pluraltargets
Verbtargets, targeting, targeted
Pluraltargets
Formstargets, targeting, targeted
- 1Someone or something that people attack, plan to attack, or criticize or laugh at.
Like the kid everyone keeps picking on at school.
The new student became an easy target for bullies.
His unusual hat made him a target for jokes.
UsageA target for bullies or jokes; often an easy target.
- 2An object you shoot at to practice aiming or to test a weapon.
Like the round, colored circle you throw darts at.
She hit the target with her very first arrow.
The soldiers lined up to shoot at paper targets on the range.
UsageYou aim at a target, then hit it or miss it.
Similarmark
- 3
- 4To choose a person, group, or thing to attack, criticize, or do something to.
Bullies often target kids who are new at school.
The thieves targeted older people who lived alone.
UsageDo not double the final t in targeted and targeting.
Similarattack
Note
- 5
- 6A person or group someone wants to hire or attract as customers or an audience.
Like the exact kind of shopper a store hopes will walk in.
Young families are the main target for this new store.
College students are the store's main target this fall.
UsageOften in target audience and target market: the people a company wants to reach.
Similaraudience, market, demographic
Note
- 7To choose a result, number, or level as the goal you want to reach.
We target a ten percent rise in sales each year.
The school is targeting higher reading scores this year.
UsagePut the goal right after it: target a ten percent rise.
Similarseek
- 8To aim something, especially a weapon, at a particular person, place, or thing.
Like pointing a flashlight straight at one spot.
The soldier targeted the enemy vehicle before firing.
Try to target the center of the board.
UsagePut the thing you aim at right after it: target the center.
Similaraim
Less common meanings
- 9To make computer code that will work on a certain device or system.
Like writing a recipe that fits one particular oven.
The compiler can target older phones.
They targeted Windows when building the app.
Note
- 10In cricket, the number of runs a team must score to win.
Like the score you must beat to win the game.
India needed just twelve more runs to reach the target.
The batsmen chased down a tricky target in the final over.
UsageOne team sets a target; the other team chases it.
Note
- 11A thin cut of meat, especially a piece of lamb from the neck and chest.
Note
- 12A large shield like those Roman soldiers carried, bigger than a small hand-held shield.
Note
- 13A small thing that hangs down as a decoration.
Note
- 14A torn strip or ragged piece of cloth.
Note
- 15In translation, the translated text, or the language it is being turned into.
- 16In math, the set of values where a function sends its results.
- 17In a comparison, the real thing being described, not the image used to describe it.
- 18The pattern that a shooter's hits make on a mark.
- 19A small round shield that a fighter held to block blows in battle.
- 20A bright disk on a railroad switch lever that shows how the switch is set.
- 21The sliding marker on a surveyor's measuring pole.
- 22In coats of arms, a picture of a small round shield.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of target apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From Middle French "targette," a small version of "targe" meaning a light shield. The word goes back through Frankish and old Germanic words for a shield or edge.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Target comes from Middle French targette, a diminutive of targe meaning a light shield. en.wiktionary.org
- The word goes back through Frankish and older Germanic words meaning shield or edge. en.wiktionary.org