1
as in victim
a person or thing that is the object of abuse, criticism, or ridicule
the hapless vice president quickly became the favorite target of late-night comedians
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2
as in joke
a person or thing that is made fun of
a badly made TV commercial that became the target of lots of jokes
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3
as in goal
something that one hopes or intends to accomplish
our target is to raise $100,000 for a new playground by August
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as in to taunt
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of target
Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
The broker remains bullish on Richemont, lifting its 12-month price target to 147 Swiss francs from 140 Swiss francs, based on the third-quarter results.
—Samantha Conti, WWD, 16 Jan. 2025
Michael Khouw, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025
That targets the front of your upper body (your pecs), while today’s move hits your back.
—Christa Sgobba, SELF, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for target 
Noun
In 2023, the Navy and Air Force fell short of their recruitment targets, while the Marine Corps and the Space Force—by far the smallest branch—continued to meet their enlistment goals.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
The broker remains bullish on Richemont, lifting its 12-month price target to 147 Swiss francs from 140 Swiss francs, based on the third-quarter results.
—Samantha Conti, WWD, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
Unsurprisingly, the administration targeted the deal and patted itself on the back.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025
That targets the front of your upper body (your pecs), while today’s move hits your back.
—Christa Sgobba, SELF, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for target
Recent Examples of Synonyms for target
Noun
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Sally Smith, a spokesperson for the police department, said Wednesday morning that she's heard the victim is in stable condition at the moment.Remington Miller, arkansasonline.com, 15 Jan. 2025
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The other victims suffered smoke inhalation and other minor injuries.Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Humor is a helpful tool in dealing with tension and stress, so making jokes about an incident that can help manage the feelings of cognitive dissonance and helplessness news like this can elicit.Callum Booth, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
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Speaking over Zoom, Vidal told me that in 2019 many people took Trump’s suggestion about buying Greenland as a joke.John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Farrell said one of his foundation’s goals is access to affordable housing for the disabled.Alexis Christoforous, ABC News, 13 Jan. 2025
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Country Day and Hoover both scored a goal in the first half and were tied 1-1 at halftime.Ben Ali H Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Are his threats more provocations and taunts to his enemies than parts of a coherent vision to create a transformed United States in a world divided into transactional power blocks?Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
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Illinois defensive back Jaheim Clarke was injured on a play and tended to by trainers and his head coach, Bret Bielema. Bielema, apparently, was not pleased, and taunted South Carolina with a substitution signal.Ryan Morik, Fox News, 1 Jan. 2025
Noun
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This increases our reliance on technical preventative controls and response and recovery capabilities should a user inadvertently fall prey to a social engineering attempt.James Blake, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
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But a recent program introduced sheepdogs, which guard the flocks from the predators and direct the cats to hunt their natural prey, reducing interactions with the gauchos.Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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One key issue is that mocks are not easily sharable, which forces each team member to rely on their own independent endpoint models.Steve Rodda, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
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Give Keith’s final mock draft another look before the show begins tonight.Chris Branch, The Athletic, 14 July 2024
Noun
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Warming Mars could cost approximately $1 billion per year, which the researchers estimated could effectively heat up the red planet by one degree Celsius annually — with the aim of reaching around 30°C to enable comfortable plant growth.Tom Brown, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2025
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Kirkpatrick said Bratton's consultancy is currently pegged for a three-month term in New Orleans, with the aim of helping guide the city's decisions on how to best strengthen its defenses.Kati Weis, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2025
Verb
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In another question, 97% said they were not harassed or bothered when voting.Karlyn Bowman, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
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Detectives arrested Kehoe on a charge of distributing visual material to harass at his West Springfield home, police said.Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near target
Cite this Entry
“Target.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/target. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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