EN

Synonyms for target

11 synonyms
10 antonyms
2 meanings

noun

Most common

object aim goal objective quarry prey

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Object

object, aim, goal, objective, purpose

2. Quarry

quarry, prey, fair game

Other

mark, butt, targe dated

Antonyms

miss, ignore, avoid

All antonyms of target →

Definitions

n. 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.
n. 2
A goal or objective.
They have a target to finish the project by November.

Related words

Word family: targetless
Phrases: target range target language off-target easy target on target stretch target target audience target cell
Other spellings: tgt

Forms

Plural: targets → objects, aims, goals, objectives…

Example sentences

goal It is not the goal but the way there that matters.
object You have chosen me as an object of your amusement.
aim I aim to address any misconceptions he might have.
objective You seem to have lost sight of original objective.
prey The hungry old eagle spotted its prey a mile away.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
target		rising
goal		rising
object		rising
aim		steady
objective		steady
prey		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: aim¹
4 letters: goal¹, mark¹, butt¹, prey¹
5 letters: targe
6 letters: object², quarry²
7 letters: purpose²
9 letters: objective³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (object² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: cible
Italiano: bersaglio
Español: diana
Deutsch: Zielscheibe