English

Noun

target ‎(plural targets)

1. A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile.

   Take careful aim at the target.‎

2. A goal or objective.
   • 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:

     Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. […] Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

   They have a target to finish the project by November.‎

3. A kind of small shield or buckler, used as a defensive weapon in war.
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I, Act II, Scene IV, line 200,

     These four came all afront, and mainly thrust at me. I made me no more ado but took all their seven points in my target, thus.

4. (obsolete) A shield resembling the Roman scutum. In modern usage, a smaller variety of shield is usually implied by this term.
   • 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 22,

     The target or buckler was carried by the heavy armed foot, it answered to the scutum of the Romans; its form was sometimes that of a rectangular parallelogram, but more commonly had its bottom rounded off; it was generally convex, being curved in its breadth.

5. (sports) The pattern or arrangement of a series of hits made by a marksman on a butt or mark.

   He made a good target.‎

6. (surveying) The sliding crosspiece, or vane, on a leveling staff.
7. (rail transport) A conspicuous disk attached to a switch lever to show its position, or for use as a signal.
8. (cricket) the number of runs that the side batting last needs to score in the final innings in order to win
9. (linguistics) The tenor of a metaphor.
10. (translation studies) The translated version of a document, or the language into which translation occurs.

    Do you charge by source or target?‎

11. A person (or group of people) that a person or organization is trying to employ or to have as a customer, audience etc.
    • 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:

      Gary Cahill, a target for Arsenal and Tottenham before the transfer window closed, put England ahead early on and Rooney was on target twice before the interval as the early hostility of the Bulgarian supporters was swiftly subdued.

12. (Britain, dated) A thin cut; a slice; specifically, of lamb, a piece consisting of the neck and breast joints.
13. (Scotland, obsolete) A tassel or pendant.
14. (Scotland, obsolete) A shred; a tatter.

Derived terms

• targeteer
• targeter
• targeting

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:goal
• (translated version): target language

Coordinate terms

• (translated version): source

Translations

Verb

target ‎(third-person singular simple present targets, present participle targeting or targetting, simple past and past participle targeted or targetted)

1. (transitive) To aim something, especially a weapon, at (a target).
2. (transitive, figuratively) To aim for as an audience or demographic.

   The advertising campaign targeted older women.

3. (transitive, computing) To produce code suitable for.

   This cross-platform compiler can target any of several processors.

Translations

See also

• Target on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Dutch

Noun

target n ‎(plural targets, diminutive targetje n)

1. target

Spanish

Etymology

English

Noun

target m ‎(plural targets)

1. target (goal, objective)