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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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

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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
Chung and her colleagues treat cells with diverse drugs and simultaneously measure intracellular regulatory proteins, including the direct drug targets, and the transcriptome over a longitudinal time course. — Rachel Martin, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2026 India, displaced by England at the top of the rankings, had a mountain to climb to reach its target and made a poor start when opener Abhishek Sharma was removed for 3. — ABC News, 11 July 2026
Verb
Ultrasound can also reach deeper into the brain than any other non-invasive technology, enabling it to target important deep brain structures. — Rob Toews, Forbes.com, 22 June 2026 Dealers, often operating through cellphones and apps, are expected to target World Cup crowds. — Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 20 June 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
  • Brown’s wife was Bruneau’s best friend at the time of the victim’s death, and both women worked as flight attendants for Braniff Airlines, a Grapevine police detective wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit filed in June.
    — Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 July 2026
  • Numerous victims have said that their names and other sensitive information were not properly redacted in the files and criticized Blanche and the department for failing to investigate Epstein’s potential co-conspirators.
    — Ben Wieder, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of victim
Noun
  • Nathan thinks Joe is teasing him about his cleanliness, and jokes back that Joe hasn’t changed his sheets, either.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 July 2026
  • The jokes about a modern couple trapped in a magical town stuck more than 200 years in the past hit the mark with just the right amount of bawdy fun.
    — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of joke
Noun
  • With England getting more and more defensive, the Argentines were able to press further into the attacking half in search of a goal.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
  • For England, the most pressing question was how to neutralize Messi, the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals over six World Cups.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026
Definition of goal
Verb
  • The actor taunted his kids over their expectations of the couples.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 9 July 2026
  • There was one from Spain–Portugal in Dallas, with [Spanish defensive midfielder] Rodri and [Portuguese midfielder] Bernardo Silva, where one of them was taunting the other.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
Definition of taunt
Noun
  • Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, questioned the methodology, saying researchers collected scat only along roads and trails while excluding brushy areas where wolves may eat smaller prey.
    — Scott Lebar. Story produced with AI assistance, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
  • Born in 1946 amid the bombing of Frankfurt, Ruppert instead developed a psychosexual cosmology that rejected neat distinctions between prey and predator.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of prey
Noun
  • Don’t let the thin sole fool you though, the structure is still quite supportive and keeps your feet cushioned.
    — Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026
  • Being a gent or a supplicant wasn’t the same as being a fool, though.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 June 2026
Definition of fool
Noun
  • Iraq wants permission to produce a record 5 million barrels a day coming out of the war, with a long-term aim of getting production up to 7 million barrels a day, Bloomberg reported.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • The state’s Holocaust Education Bill, passed in 1994, requires every school district to teach the Holocaust with the explicit aim of building tolerance, nurturing democratic values, and confronting what indifference produces.
    — Masha Pearl, Sun Sentinel, 5 July 2026
Definition of aim
Verb
  • Officers whose names are not publicly disclosed have had their identities revealed and been harassed online.
    — Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
  • Latvala’s resignation came as the #MeToo movement rode a torrent of revelations of powerful men across industries using their positions to harass women.
    — Michael Van Sickler, Miami Herald, 9 July 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 19 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of target for Spanish Speakers

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