1
as in victims
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in jokes
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 goals
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of targets
Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 12 Oct. 2025
Other weapons on display included shorter-range ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, which the North previously described as capable of delivering nuclear strikes against targets in South Korea.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
Fields couldn’t survey the field long enough to find his targets.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Jauan Jennings, another one of Jones’ top targets, is listed as questionable with injuries to his ankle and ribs that kept him out of last week's game.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025
At the same time, survey data shows only around half of these companies are on track to meet their targets for decarbonizing their operations and supply chains.
—Justin Worland, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
Attack largest of war on Lviv, Governor says A Reuters correspondent heard explosions booming across the dark morning sky as air defenses engaged targets from several directions.
—CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
Defenders downed or suppressed 439 drones and 39 missiles, the air force said, with eight other missiles failing to reach their targets.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2025
Achane is tied for first in touchdown catches, second in receptions and targets, as well as third in yards on the team.
—Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
Expect a big game from Ferguson, the Cowboys’ tight end who leads all tight ends in targets through five contests.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 12 Oct. 2025
Other weapons on display included shorter-range ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, which the North previously described as capable of delivering nuclear strikes against targets in South Korea.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
Fields couldn’t survey the field long enough to find his targets.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Jauan Jennings, another one of Jones’ top targets, is listed as questionable with injuries to his ankle and ribs that kept him out of last week's game.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025
At the same time, survey data shows only around half of these companies are on track to meet their targets for decarbonizing their operations and supply chains.
—Justin Worland, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
Attack largest of war on Lviv, Governor says A Reuters correspondent heard explosions booming across the dark morning sky as air defenses engaged targets from several directions.
—CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
Defenders downed or suppressed 439 drones and 39 missiles, the air force said, with eight other missiles failing to reach their targets.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2025
Achane is tied for first in touchdown catches, second in receptions and targets, as well as third in yards on the team.
—Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for targets
Noun
-
The victims' identities were not released.—
NPR,
NPR,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Monday’s sentencing marks the end of a years-long legal battle between Laffitte and his victims, after Laffitte was reportedly the first to face federal charges as investigators looked to take down the Murdaugh empire.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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And no … no more short jokes from me.—
Vic Tafur,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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This was a couple who had never stopped laughing at one another’s jokes, who still held hands like teenagers into their 50s.—
Bee Wilson,
Vogue,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This season, by contrast, has seen a sharp drop in the number of goals scored (and particularly those scored from open play).—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Owen Michaels scored two third-period goals to seal Western Michigan’s first Frozen Four championship with a 6-2 victory over Boston University on Saturday night.—
John Wawrow,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Garraty is forced to slap himself across the face to stay awake as Barkovitch taunts him.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Sep. 2025
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In the present day, Ellen watches as MacKinny taunts Colum in front of a crowd of onlookers and rushes to stand by his side.—
Lincee Ray Published,
EW.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Sabonis and Zach LaVine are fringe All-Stars most seasons, Keegan Murray is a solid wing starter who shoots and defends, DeRozan can still get midrange buckets and shot-fake fools into heaps of fouls, and Malik Monk is electric in a sixth-man role.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The result is just old-fashioned cinematic fools’ gold, in which sensationalistic blather poses as social commentary.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
-
This particular challenge serves many purposes.—
Joe Boylan,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Nancy adds that her family didn't know that the community was dropping the rabies baits, and didn't receive any mailers about the drop.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
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Trolling crank baits along points and flats 15 feet deep over deeper water should still work.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Italian scientist Alessandro Volta studied eel physiology to inspire the first battery, and recent work shows eels use doublets, two rapid spikes, to force rapid prey muscle contractions before the knockout blast.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Oct. 2025
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The hope for gold-producing nations like Ghana is to responsibly leverage this bountiful natural resource without falling prey to environmental degradation and civil strife.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Targets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/targets. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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