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

But the expanding bull's-eye is only one factor in Kentucky communities' vulnerability to tornadoes. —Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025

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

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