target 1 of 2

noun

ˈtär-gət How to pronounce target (audio)
Definition of targetnext
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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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

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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

target

2 of 2

verb

as in to taunt

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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
Noun
Easy initial targets include rolling back Medicaid cuts and restoring Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits that the GOP allowed to lapse, two policies hitting household budgets as healthcare premiums spike. — David Lim, semafor.com, 5 Nov. 2026 Rice caught a team-high seven passes on eight targets for 53 yards and a touchdown against Denver. — Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2026
Verb
Another person familiar with Democrats' oversight plans, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told CNBC the strategy is to aggressively target business while also taking a more traditional watchdog role of the executive branch. — Justin Papp,garrett Downs,megan Cassella, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026 The process is used to transform raw, localized ingredients — such as rice, but also honey and soybeans — into more potent but non-irritating formulas that target cellular turnover and provide deep hydration by penetrating the skin more effectively. — Kati Chitrakorn, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for target
Recent Examples of Synonyms for target
  1. victim
  2. joke
  3. goal
  4. taunt
  5. prey
  6. fool
  7. aim
  8. harass
Noun
  • In steady rain and silence, thousands marched in Novi Sad on Sunday in a gesture of respect for the victims.
    — MARKO DROBNJAKOVIC, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
  • American women, being birthed as special victims with special status, are not.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of victim
Noun
  • The chain, which has over 200 locations in the United States, was recently caught in a culture war against its will, sparked by a joke from former President Barack Obama on its aesthetic.
    — Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Later on during Weekend Update, Michael Che made a joke about Israel that made Jost jokingly grimace.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of joke
Noun
  • The company said its goal is to help defenders discover and fix vulnerabilities before attackers can use them.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2026
  • If the Sens’ backup goaltending situation solves itself, then Staios’ shopping list could be fairly simple between now and the deadline, with landing a goal-scoring forward.
    — Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of goal
Verb
  • Any serious fan of the group might have heard those latter barnburners in concert enough for one lifetime… not that retributive murder and taunting fornication ever get too old.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Yet there Culkin is, taunting the District tributes and putting on a show for the Capitol elites in the trailers for the upcoming film.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of taunt
Noun
  • Rattlesnakes are lazy hunters that wait in the shadows for prey to approach.
    — RJ Mackenzie, Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2026
  • One reason for the pattern, after all, is that presidents fall prey to hubris following success in their own elections.
    — Ramesh Ponnuru, Washington Post, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of prey
Noun
  • Watching with the hope that anything serious will ever shift for the central characters is a fool’s errand.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Halloween is treated as his blind spot, the day each year this Socrates of the gang makes a fool of himself and misses out on treats.
    — Colin Fleming, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of fool
Noun
  • Art—in the broadest sense—has been enlisted to this aim in the region at least once before, namely in the construction of hundreds of new churches during the spiritual low point of the immediate postwar period.
    — Kristian Vistrup Madsen, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The boy on the truck stared at the back of the gathering, his aim focused on the captain.
    — Ron Farina, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of aim
Verb
  • Burke Dennings, an eccentric film director, is drunk during a party, and harasses Karl, the family caretaker.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
  • In the ensuing pile-on, both were savagely harassed across social media platforms, with groypers even calling for them to be doxxed.
    — Nathan Taylor Pemberton, Vanity Fair, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of harass

Browse Nearby Words

tardy
target
targeted
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Cite this Entry

“Target.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/target. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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