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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to taunt
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of target
Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 6 June 2026
Bahrain’s General Command said Iran fired three ballistic missiles and several drones, which were successfully shot down by the Bahrain Defence Force before reaching their targets.
—Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2026
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
Companies target women with catchy ads on social media, host fun events like fitness classes, even a manicure, to give women information, and draw them in.
—Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for target
Noun
To make these insights immediately actionable, the PPPL team developed a basic formula to predict plasma magnetization based on specific laser and target variables.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 6 June 2026
Bahrain’s General Command said Iran fired three ballistic missiles and several drones, which were successfully shot down by the Bahrain Defence Force before reaching their targets.
—Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2026
Verb
Those details can help scammers decide how to target you next.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
Companies target women with catchy ads on social media, host fun events like fitness classes, even a manicure, to give women information, and draw them in.
—Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for target
Recent Examples of Synonyms for target
Noun
-
Midland Memorial Hospital received nine of the victims connected to the active shooter incident.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
13 June 2026
-
The pope also met abuse survivors privately and urged Spain’s bishops to listen to victims and make reparations.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
Despite all of the excellent jokes, ultimately Night Night Fawn can be nothing other than a tragedy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
In casual conversation, it’s treated as a biological footnote, something between a quirk and a joke.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Washington says the goal is to reduce aid dependence while advancing US interests.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
-
If the goal is to raise awareness, the best course of action is probably to let the subclinical cases be counted.—
Sloane Crosley,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
The neighbor, who lived across the hall from Valentine, said the suspect routinely taunted her from inside her apartment, uttering her insults through the microphone of a doorbell camera.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
3 June 2026
-
Fans booed as Jade Cargill took control early, taunting Rhea with pushups.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
If the snake population continues to decline, this could have harmful effects on the ecosystem, as snakes are both intermediate and apex predators, serving as both predator and prey.—
Carson Bonner,
AJC.com,
9 June 2026
-
Tens of thousands drowned, while others were raped, robbed, and murdered by pirates, finding vulnerable prey.—
Elizabeth Holtzman,
Time,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Don’t let the simple style fool you, though, because the ultra-soft foam insoles provide solid arch support.—
Caitlyn Fitzpatrick,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
-
Brute-forcing the one-time code for a single account—meaning iterating through every possible combination until the right one is entered—would be little more than a fool’s errand, even within the three-hour window that the codes remained valid.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Speaking at a November Yahoo Finance Invest Conference, Karp took specific aim at analysts and journalists whose critical coverage of the for-profit surveillance venture was leading to negative investor sentiment.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
11 June 2026
-
For the players who hail from across the country to any number of such camps dotted across the land, the aim is to be spotted and noted, to land on the radar in this relentlessly competitive game of recruiting.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Influencer Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known on social media as Anna Bensi, is constantly harassed by Cuba’s political police and was placed under house arrest in March.—
Sarah Moreno
June 5,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026
-
Police accused Andrea Bucci of harassing a 16-year-old youth ice hockey referee over a call during a game in July 2025.—
Ricky Sayer,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Target.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/target. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
