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AIM

[eym]

verb (used with object)

to position or direct (a firearm, ball, arrow, rocket, etc.) so that, on firing or release, the discharged projectile will hit a target or travel along a certain path.

to intend or direct for a particular effect or purpose: to aim a satire at snobbery.

verb (used without object)

to point or direct a gun, punch, etc., toward: He aimed at the target but missed it.

to strive; try (usually followed by to or at): We aim to please. They aim at saving something every month.

to intend: She aims to go tomorrow.

to direct efforts, as toward an object: The satire aimed at modern greed.

Obsolete. to estimate; guess.

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Aim is one of our favorite verbs.

So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

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noun

the act of aiming or directing anything at or toward a particular point or target.

the direction in which a weapon or missile is pointed; the line of sighting: within the cannon's aim.

10.

the point intended to be hit; thing or person aimed at: to miss one's aim.

11.

something intended or desired to be attained by one's efforts; purpose: whatever his aim in life may be.

12.

Obsolete. conjecture; guess.

Idiom

13.

take aim, to sight a target: to take aim and fire.

Origin:
1275–1325; late Middle English aimen < Anglo-French a(e)smer, eimer, Old French aesmer < Vulgar Latin *adaestimāre, equivalent to Latin ad- ad- + aestimāre (see estimate); replacing Middle English amen < Old French (dial.) amer < Latin aestimāre

Related forms

aim·er, noun

aim·ful, adjective

aim·ful·ly, adverb

mis·aim, verb, noun

un·aimed, adjective

EXPAND

un·aim·ing, adjective

un·der·aim, noun

un·der·aim, verb

well-aimed, adjective

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. point. 8. sighting. 10. target, objective. 11. goal; intent, design. Aim, end, object all imply something that is the goal of one's efforts. Aim implies that toward which one makes a direct line, refusing to be diverted from it: a nobleness of aim; one's aim in life. End emphasizes the goal as a cause of efforts: the end for which one strives. Object emphasizes the goal as that toward which all efforts are directed: the object of years of study.

Example Sentences

Aim for your students to engage in the kind of editing and revision that you do when you write papers with colleagues.

They should aim for a thorough dismantling of distorting subsidies and for truly open markets for farm goods.

The company will aim to eradicate the island pig population over the next two to three years.

EXPAND

Aim for your students to engage in the kind of editing and revision that you do when you write papers with colleagues.

They should aim for a thorough dismantling of distorting subsidies and for truly open markets for farm goods.

The company will aim to eradicate the island pig population over the next two to three years.

Researchers aim to put more rigor into studies of media bias.

I'd aim the fans and the fog machine, and get it all fine-tuned.

Ideally, aim for pea-size to marble-size soil particles.

Maybe different styles of putters work for golfers because they actually help the golfer aim better.

Some encourage access, others aim to foster completion.

Its aim is to shame corrupt officials into not demanding bribes.

These lower appendices aim to regulate trade, not prohibit it.

For fun, he wrestles fellow tribesmen and practices his aim by tossing spears at tree trunks.

His exuberance and boyish projection of triumph led to an addiction to taking aim from afar and wasting ammunition.

Aim to have something in bloom from early spring to late fall so that winged visitors are never without nourishment.

Taser, manufacturer of the iconic stun gun, is taking aim at out-of-control animals.

Others suggest that the aim is to ensure the election of a weak, unwieldy parliament.

As truck fleets and policy makers aim to curb big rig fuel consumption, the secret weapon is driver behavior.

Sustainability must be the ultimate aim but almost no-one really understands what that is.

The aim here is not merely to educate minds but to build character.

Aim to select vegetables that can mature and bear a good crop in the interval between these two dates.

The aim is a worthy one, and the only thing wrong with the plans is that they do not go nearly far enough.

Aim for early morning or late afternoon for the best light.

The matter is further obscured by the nature of the threats they aim to fend off.

In my neighborhood, some of the street lamps aim their light directly down on the sidewalk and road.

Its aim is to make government data more easily accessible, both to journalists and to ordinary citizens.

The aim is to highlight local projects that have potential to expand to regional or global scale.

The main difference between then and now is that now a major aim of the work is to preserve the creatures under observation.

The gunners have certainly had plenty to aim at this week.

Both nonprofit organizations aim to get schoolchildren interested in careers in science, math, and engineering.

Its aim becomes ecstasy in that ancient, liberatory sense.

If that is too subtle a point to make in a show for non-specialists, then the stated aim of this exhibition may be too ambitious.

The aim of screening healthy people for cancer is to discover tumours when they are small and treatable.

The aim is to avoid long and difficult legal arguments over who was the first to come up with an idea.

The scheme's main aim is to protect taxpayers from bearing losses.

The aim is to encourage the indigenous creation of information and to lessen reliance on imports from outside.

Real-time bidding makes it easy to aim ads at susceptible eyeballs.

The idea of a currency war is that nations depreciate their currencies with the aim of boosting their share of export markets.

Microsoft is taking solid aim at a business that is arguably outside its core competence: advertising.

Federal lawmakers have recently taken aim at what they see as stingy spending by wealthy.

But a lack of stability probably influenced the architects to aim for a new angle halfway through construction.

With hundreds of nanoproducts currently being tested in humans, recommendations aim to safeguard trial participants.

His aim was nothing less than an exhaustive record in watercolor.

Obviously, the aim is to make profit as much as possible.

It is not the features or design that matter, since the two phones aim at different users.

Aim to capture the soul of the place as well as its physical appearance.

The aim is to ensure that local lawmakers know where to look when trying to curb warming temperatures.

Their focus is absolute, their aim impeccable, their arms.

They aim ads at them, target jingles at them, even go so far as to build entire cars for them.

Our aim is mainly to save money, and continue to do research.

The other option-piling on rules that aim to cover all contingencies-might make comparisons easier.

As researchers detail the physical benefits of some video entertainment systems, manufacturers aim to capitalize on the results.

But this time the aim is to make them livelier and less dogmatic.

The darkest scenarios suggest that both countries would aim strikes at major cities.

Venture capitalists and funding agencies aim to get some bang for their alternative fusion bucks, but a lot of unknowns remain.

Near the baseline, the aim point is higher on the backboard and thus farther from the rim.

If the aim is to teach on the college level, students must focus on producing book-length manuscripts and getting them published.

Alas, although the negotiators came close to a deal, neither aim was achieved.

Target archery means you aim the arrow at a specific targetIn archery a bulls eye is gold.

The first national regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions aim to reduce fuel consumption in vehicles.

Aim your phone at a building and see a video about that building.

To achieve cordiality, you should aim for friendliness.

Google's broader aim is to bring artistic harmony to the innumerable bits of data sloshing around on the web.

In field archery, you move up and down hills and aim to shoot between trees.

Aim it at a picture in a newspaper and launch an interactive experience.

Its aim is to engineer organisms that perform functions of use to humans.

The aim is for them to become fitter-activities range from yoga to martial arts-as well as slimmer.

Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their species' survival.

Innovators who aim to create a world of cheap, clean energy should heed some basic lessons.

Second, the reason perfect control has not been our tradition's aim is that creation always involves building upon something else.

The aim is to create a diagnostic nose as discriminating as those of perfume mixers or wine buyers.

The system's technologies aim to prevent injuries and save airlines millions of dollars.

The science team aim to verify this preliminary conclusion.

The aim is to work out the other people's role to stop them completing the mission.

His aim is to discourage readers from doing likewise.

The company plans to also insert the silk-producing gene into goats with the aim of collecting silk proteins from goat milk.

Two new studies aim to quantify limits on the amount of greenhouse emissions necessary to avoid dangerous.

Scientists couldn't aim the telescope's receiver at particular parts of the sky for about a month.

The aim of the venture is to show cocoa farmers how to increase yields using fertilisers and by working with each other.

His aim is to understand their roles in seed dispersal and thus tropical biodiversity.

These experiments will aim at facilitating learning and memory, enhancing creativity and increasing intelligence.

They aim to give you an experience that's as close as possible to running in bare feet.

These corporate giants aim to cash in on the desperation of traditional news publishers.

We have a secondary aim to each expedition-to raise a certain amount of money for a particular charity.

The aim is to allow automakers to evaluate the pollution-free, energy-efficient vehicles in diverse driving conditions.

Their worlds are inventive, tell a great story or aim to educate.

And so the mandate needs to be changed once again-this time, with an aim toward protecting financial and economic stability.

These expeditions aim to quickly register the flora and fauna in order to inform conservation decisions.

The aim for the researchers is to understand both sides of the story: the regression and growth of the tumors.

The aim of perfectionism counseling is not simply to tame the trait s destructive side.

The primary aim is to discourage car use to the benefit of others.

Venture capitalists and funding agencies aim to get some bang for their.

Some left behind say that snipers prevented their flight by taking aim at columns of departing residents.

And to have brain research corroborate it is rather unscientific, since the aim of research should be objective.

But some measures aim dramatically to increase or curtail personal liberties.

As well as the serious money required to take part in a grouse shoot a true aim is vital.

They thus aim to develop a sensitive enough system to detect sugar levels in tears.

Those who do point take a while to think about it and then aim in all possible directions.

The new standards aim at slashing smog-forming and cancer-causing pollutants emitted during the oil and gas drilling process.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

American Indian movement.

Link To AIM

Collins

World English Dictionary

aim (eɪm)

—vb
1.	to point (a weapon, missile, etc) or direct (a blow) at a particular person or object; level
2.	(tr) to direct (satire, criticism, etc) at a person, object, etc
3.	(intr; foll by at or an infinitive) to propose or intend: we aim to leave early
4.	(intr; often foll by at or for) to direct one's efforts or strive (towards): to aim at better communications; to aim high

—n
5.	the action of directing something at an object
6.	the direction in which something is pointed; line of sighting (esp in the phrase to take aim)
7.	the object at which something is aimed; target
8.	intention; purpose

[C14: via Old French aesmer from Latin aestimāre to estimate]

AIM

—*abbreviation for*
	(in Britain) Alternative Investment Market

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

aim

early 14c., "to estimate, calculate," from O.Fr. esmar, from L. aestimare "appraise" (see estimation); current meaning apparently developed from "esteem," to "calculate," through "calculate with a view to action" (c.1400), then "calculate the direction of a missile" (1570s).

EXPAND

The noun is recorded from c.1400, originally "guess;" meaning "action of aiming" is from early 15c. (to take aim, originally make aim); that of "thing intended, purpose" is from 1620s. Related: Aimless (1620s).

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

AIM
American Indian Movement

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

aim

In addition to the idiom beginning with aim, also see take aim.

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Idioms & Phrases

aim

take aim

Matching Quote

"What you would work me to, I have some aim."

-Shakespeare

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