Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An object, such as a padded disk with a marked surface, that is shot at to test accuracy in rifle or archery practice.
  • noun Something aimed or fired at.
  • noun An object of criticism or verbal attack.
  • noun One to be influenced or changed by an action or event.
  • noun A desired goal.
  • noun A railroad signal that indicates the position of a switch by its color, position, and shape.
  • noun The sliding sight on a surveyor's leveling rod.
  • noun A small round shield.
  • noun A usually metal part in an x-ray tube on which a beam of electrons is focused and from which x-rays are emitted.
  • transitive verb To aim at or identify as a target.
  • transitive verb To identify or treat as the object of action, criticism, or change.
  • transitive verb To design for or direct toward a specific object or audience.
  • idiom (on target) Completely accurate, precise, or valid.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A shield.
  • noun In the seventeenth century, a shield of any form used by an infantry soldier as a substitute for body-armor. Compare targeteer.
  • noun A shield-shaped, circular, or other mark at which archers or users of firearms shoot for practice or for a prize: so called from the mark, which usually consists of concentric rings.
  • noun Figuratively, anything at which observation is aimed; one who or that which is a marked object of curiosity, admiration, contempt, or other feeling.
  • noun On a railroad, the frame or holder in which a signal is displayed, as at switches.
  • noun The sliding sight on a leveling-staff. Also called vane. See cut under leveling-staff.
  • noun In heraldry, a bearing representing a round shield, or buckler.
  • noun A pendant, often jeweled; a tassel.
  • noun A shred; slice.
  • noun In archery, the five circles count as follows: gold center, 9; red, 7; inner white or blue, 5; black, 3; outer white, 1.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A kind of small shield or buckler, used as a defensive weapon in war.
  • noun A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile.
  • noun The pattern or arrangement of a series of hits made by a marksman on a butt or mark.
  • noun (Surveying) The sliding crosspiece, or vane, on a leveling staff.
  • noun (Railroad) A conspicuous disk attached to a switch lever to show its position, or for use as a signal.
  • noun engraving A thin cut; a slice; specif., of lamb, a piece consisting of the neck and breast joints.
  • noun Obs. Scot. A tassel or pendent; also, a shred; tatter.
  • noun A goal for an activity.
  • noun A metallic object toward which a beam of electrons is aimed in a tube designed to generate X-rays; when the electrons strike the target, the impact causes emission of X-rays.
  • noun Any object toward which a beam of photons, a laser beam, an electron beam, or a beam of atomic or subatomic particles is aimed.
  • noun A person who is the subject of criticism or ridicule.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile.
  • noun A goal or objective.
  • noun A kind of small shield or buckler, used as a defensive weapon in war.
  • noun obsolete A shield resembling the Roman scutum. In modern usage, a smaller variety of shield is usually implied by this term.
  • noun sports The pattern or arrangement of a series of hits made by a marksman on a butt or mark.
  • noun surveying The sliding crosspiece, or vane, on a leveling staff.
  • noun rail transport A conspicuous disk attached to a switch lever to show its position, or for use as a signal.
  • noun cricket the number of runs that the side batting last needs to score in the final innings in order to win
  • noun linguistics The tenor of a metaphor.
  • noun translation studies The translated version of a document, or the language into which translation occurs.
  • noun A person (or group of people) that a person or organization is trying to employ or to have as a customer, audience etc.
  • verb transitive To aim something, especially a weapon, at (a target).
  • verb transitive, figuratively To aim for as an audience or demographic.
  • verb transitive, computing To produce code suitable for.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, small targe, from Old French targuete, variant of targete, diminutive of targe, light shield, of Germanic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Diminutive of targe.

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Examples

  • The rifleman who attains proficiency _focuses his eye on the target while aiming_, but he glances at one sight and then the other to see that they are aligned properly, then back at the target, and at the instant of discharge _his eye is on the target_.

    Manual of Military Training Second, Revised Edition 1906

  • The following shows it being run on the target: target$./drone1

    Bluish Coder 2010

  • The following shows it being run on the target: target$./drone1

    Bluish Coder Chris Double 2010

  • ; MsgBox, f_class = \% f_class\% ` n target = \% target\% ` n 1 = \% f_Edit1Pos\% ` n 2 = \% f_Edit2Pos\% ` n \% lst\%

    AutoHotkey Community 2009

  • ; MsgBox, f_class = \% f_class\% ` n target = \% target\% ` n 1 = \% f_Edit1Pos\% ` n 2 = \% f_Edit2Pos\%

    AutoHotkey Community 2009

  • "part" what is a simple way to express this in bash syntax? target = $target ` echo $part | cut - c4 ` chewearn

    Ubuntu Forums 2010

  • Unsubscribe (target); _target = object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e) {case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.

    The Code Project Latest Articles 2010

  • Unsubscribe (target); _target = object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e) {case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.

    The Code Project Latest Articles 2009

  • The House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that would allow the Commerce Department to put duties on goods from countries with undervalued currencies; its main target is China.

    House Passes Bill Aimed At Chinese Currency 2010

  • The House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that would allow the Commerce Department to put duties on goods from countries with undervalued currencies; its main target is China.

    House Passes Bill Aimed At Chinese Currency 2010

  • The precise movements characterising the muscle actions of archers (target panic), tap dancers, runners, hairdressers, golfers (the yips), musicians, and computer programmers are found among people living with dystonia.

    Dystonia plagues musicians and has no easy remedies | Aeon Essays 2023

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