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target - 11 dictionary results
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tar⋅get

  [tahr-git]
Use target in a Sentence
–noun
1. an object, usually marked with concentric circles, to be aimed at in shooting practice or contests.
2. any object used for this purpose.
3. anything fired at.
4. a goal to be reached.
5. an object of abuse, scorn, derision, etc.; butt.
6. Fencing. the portion of a fencer's body where a touch can be scored.
7. a disk-shaped signal, as at a railroad switch, indicating the position of a switch.
8. Surveying.
a. the sliding sight on a leveling rod.
b. any marker on which sights are taken.
9. a small shield, usually round, carried by a foot soldier; buckler.
–adjective
10. that is or may be a target or goal: The target group consisted of college graduates who earned more than $50,000 a year.
–verb (used with object)
11. to use, set up, or designate as a target or goal.
12. to direct toward a target: The new warheads can be targeted with great precision.
13. to make a target of (an object, person, city, etc.) for attack or bombardment.
—Verb phrase
14. target on or in on, to establish or use as a target or goal: The club is targeting on September for the move to larger quarters.
—Idiom
15. on target,
a. properly aimed or on the right course toward a target.
b. accurate, correct, or valid: Their description of the event was on target.
c. filling or meeting a requirement or expectations: The amount of supplies we took was right on target.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME (n.) < MF targuete, var. of targete small shield. See targe, -et

Related forms:
tar⋅get⋅a⋅ble, adjective
tar⋅get⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
4. aim, end, purpose.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To target
tar·get   (tär'gĭt)   
n.  
    1. An object, such as a padded disk with a marked surface, that is shot at to test accuracy in rifle or archery practice.
    2. Something aimed or fired at.
    3. A structure in a television camera tube with a storage surface that is scanned by an electron beam to generate a signal output current similar to the charge-density pattern stored on the surface.
    4. A usually metal part in an x-ray tube on which a beam of electrons is focused and from which x-rays are emitted.
  2. An object of criticism or attack.
  3. One to be influenced or changed by an action or event.
  4. A desired goal.
  5. A railroad signal that indicates the position of a switch by its color, position, and shape.
  6. The sliding sight on a surveyor's leveling rod.
  7. A small round shield.
    1. A structure in a television camera tube with a storage surface that is scanned by an electron beam to generate a signal output current similar to the charge-density pattern stored on the surface.
    2. A usually metal part in an x-ray tube on which a beam of electrons is focused and from which x-rays are emitted.
tr.v.   tar·get·ed, tar·get·ing, tar·gets
  1. To make a target of.
  2. To aim at or for.
  3. To establish as a target or goal.

[Middle English, small targe, from Old French targuete, variant of targete, diminutive of targe, light shield, of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Target

Tar"get\, n. 1. A thin cut; a slice; specif., of lamb, a piece consisting of the neck and breast joints. [Eng.]

2. A tassel or pendent; also, a shred; tatter. [Obs. Scot.]

Target

Tar"get\, n. [OF. targette, dim. of OF. & F. targe, of Teutonic origin; cf. AS. targe, OD. targie, G. zarge a frame, case, border, OHG. zarga, Icel. targa shield.]

1. A kind of small shield or buckler, used as a defensive weapon in war.

2. (a) A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile. (b) The pattern or arrangement of a series of hits made by a marksman on a butt or mark; as, he made a good target.

3. (Surveying) The sliding crosspiece, or vane, on a leveling staff.

4. (Railroad) A conspicuous disk attached to a switch lever to show its position, or for use as a signal.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : target
Spanish: blanco,
German: die Zielscheibe,
Japanese: 的
More Translations »

target 
c.1400, "shield," dim. of late O.E. targe, from O.Fr. targe "light shield," from Frank. *targa "shield" (cf. O.H.G. zarga "edging, border," Ger. zarge, O.E. targe, O.N. targa "shield"), from P.Gmc. *targo "border, edge." Meaning "object to be aimed at in shooting" first recorded 1757, originally in archery. Verb meaning "to use as a target" is attested from 1837.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: tar·get
Function: noun
: the object to be affected or achieved by an action or development; specifically : a company that is the object of a takeover
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: tar·get
Pronunciation: 'tär-g&t
Function: noun
1 : something to be affected by an action or development;specifically : an organ, part, or tissue that is affected by the action of a hormone
2 a : the metallic surface usually of platinum or tungsten upon which thestream of electrons within an X-ray tube is focused and from which the X rays are emitted b : a body, surface, or material bombarded with nuclear particles or electrons
3 : the thought or object that is to be recognized (as by telepathy) or affected (as by psychokinesis) in a parapsychological experiment
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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target tar·get (tär'gĭt)
n.

  1. One to be influenced or changed by an action or event.
  2. A desired goal.
  3. A usually metal part in an x-ray tube on which a beam of electrons is focused and from which x-rays are emitted.
  4. A target organ.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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target
SCSI target

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Target

(1 Sam. 17:6, A.V., after the LXX. and Vulg.), a kind of small shield. The margin has "gorget," a piece of armour for the throat. The Revised Version more correctly renders the Hebrew word (kidon) by "javelin." The same Hebrew word is used in Josh. 8:18 (A.V., "spear;" R.V., "javelin"); Job 39:23 (A.V., "shield;" R.V., "javelin"); 41:29 (A.V., "spear;" R.V., "javelin").

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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target

see on target; sitting duck (target).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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