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aim

[eym]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aim ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to position or direct (a firearm, ball, arrow, rocket, etc.) so that, on firing or release, the discharged projectile will hit a target or travel along a certain path.
to intend or direct for a particular effect or purpose: to aim a satire at snobbery.

verb (used without object)

noun

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RELATED WORDS

desire, direction, target, wish, aspiration, intention, intent, purpose, ambition, objective, plan, intend, propose, focus, direct, try, design, want, address, mean

Idioms

    take aim, to sight a target: to take aim and fire.

Origin of aim

1275–1325; late Middle English aimen < Anglo-French a(e)smer, eimer, Old French aesmer < Vulgar Latin *adaestimāre, equivalent to Latin ad- ad- + aestimāre (see estimate); replacing Middle English amen < Old French (dial.) amer < Latin aestimāre
Related formsaim·er, nounaim·ful, adjectiveaim·ful·ly, adverbmis·aim, verb, nounun·aimed, adjectiveun·aim·ing, adjectiveun·der·aim, nounun·der·aim, verbwell-aimed, adjective

Synonyms for aim

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aim ON THESAURUS.COM
1. point. 8. sighting. 10. target, objective. 11. goal; intent, design.

Synonym study

11. Aim, end, object all imply something that is the goal of one's efforts. Aim implies that toward which one makes a direct line, refusing to be diverted from it: a nobleness of aim; one's aim in life. End emphasizes the goal as a cause of efforts: the end for which one strives. Object emphasizes the goal as that toward which all efforts are directed: the object of years of study.

AIM

[eym]

noun

American Indian Movement.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aim

Contemporary Examples of aim

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British Dictionary definitions for aim

aim

verb

to point (a weapon, missile, etc) or direct (a blow) at a particular person or object; level
(tr) to direct (satire, criticism, etc) at a person, object, etc
(intr; foll by at or an infinitive) to propose or intendwe aim to leave early
(intr; often foll by at or for) to direct one's efforts or strive (towards)to aim at better communications; to aim high

noun

the action of directing something at an object
the direction in which something is pointed; line of sighting (esp in the phrase to take aim)
the object at which something is aimed; target
intention; purpose

Word Origin for aim

C14: via Old French aesmer from Latin aestimāre to estimate

AIM

abbreviation for

(in Britain) Alternative Investment Market
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for aim
v.

early 14c., "to estimate, calculate," also "to intend," from Old French aesmer "value, rate; count, estimate," from Latin aestimare "appraise" (see estimation); current meaning apparently developed from "esteem," to "calculate," to "calculate with a view to action" (c.1400), then to "direct a missile, a blow, etc." (1570s). Related: Aimed; aiming.

n.

early 14c., "target;" late 14c., "guess;" from aim (v.). Meaning "action of aiming" is from early 15c. (to take aim, originally make aim); that of "thing intended, purpose" is from 1620s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with aim

aim

In addition to the idiom beginning with aim

  • aim to

also see:

  • take aim
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.