bull's-eye

noun

ˈbu̇lz-ˌī 

 also  ˈbəlz-

variants or bullseye

plural bull's-eyes or bullseyes

1

: a very hard globular candy

2

: a circular piece of glass especially with a lump in the middle

3

a

: the center of a target

also : something central or crucial

b

: a shot that hits the bull's-eye

broadly : something that precisely attains a desired end

4

: a simple lens of short focal distance

also : a lantern with such a lens

Synonyms

• root
• heart
• essence
• core
• kernel
• point
• bottom line
• sum
• meat

Examples of bull's-eye in a Sentence

you hit the bull's-eye when you noted that the real issue here is money

Recent Examples on the Web

The target, which was white with a red bull's-eye, was pushed into the wound in his chest. —Chiara Eisner, NPR, 8 May 2025

Life-threatening flash flooding is also a major concern on Tuesday and Wednesday from Texas to Missouri, with Oklahoma in the bull's-eye. —Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 29 Apr. 2025

There will be a target with a red bull's-eye on his chest. —CBS News, 9 Apr. 2025

There will be a target with a red bull's-eye on his chest. —CBS News, 9 Apr. 2025

Cities in the bull's-eye include Jonesboro, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Evansville, Indiana. —Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2025

More than a foot of rain could rain in the bull's-eye of the storm, which spans from Little Rock, Arkansas, to the Arkansas-Missouri border, to Louisville Kentucky, to Evansville, Indiana. —Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2025

Charleston, South Carolina, up to Norfolk, Virginia are in the bull's-eye for damaging winds and potential tornadoes. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 4 Mar. 2025

Now, a more conservative GOP caucus has again put a bull's-eye on Medicaid's budget, which has grown by at least $300 billion in eight years due largely to the COVID pandemic and the decision by more states to expand Medicaid. —Phil Galewitz, NPR, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bull's-eye

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

Kids Definition

bull's-eye

noun

ˈbu̇l-ˌzī

1

: a round hard candy

2

a

: the center of a target

b

: a shot that hits the center of a target