aim

[ eym ]

/ eɪm /

Save This Word!

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)

to point or direct a gun, punch, etc., toward: He aimed at the target but missed it.

to strive; try (usually followed by to or at): We aim to please. They aim at saving something every month.

to intend: She aims to go tomorrow.

to direct efforts, as toward an object: The satire aimed at modern greed.

Obsolete. to estimate; guess.

noun

the act of aiming or directing anything at or toward a particular point or target.

the direction in which a weapon or missile is pointed; the line of sighting: within the cannon's aim.

the point intended to be hit; thing or person aimed at: to miss one's aim.

something intended or desired to be attained by one's efforts; purpose: whatever his aim in life may be.

Obsolete. conjecture; guess.

OTHER WORDS FOR aim

1 point.

8 sighting.

10 target, objective.

11 goal; intent, design.

See synonyms for aim on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

TEST YOUR MERIT ON THESE NEW WORDS IN 2021

The Dictionary added new words and definition to our vast collection, and we want to see how well-versed you are in the formally recognized new lingo. Take the quiz!

Question 1 of 8

What does JEDI stand for?

justice, equity, diversity, inclusion

justice, energy, determination, instruction

joy, equality, diversity, involvement

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Idioms about aim

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

synonym study for aim

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM aim

aimer, nounaimful, adjectiveaim·ful·ly, adverbmis·aim, verb, noun

un·aimed, adjectiveun·aim·ing, adjectiveun·der·aim, nounun·der·aim, verbwell-aimed, adjective

Words nearby aim

ailment, ailurophile, ailurophilia, ailurophobe, ailurophobia, aim, aimak, A.I.M.E., Aimee, aiming point, aimless

Other definitions for aim (2 of 2)

AIM

[ eym ]

/ eɪm /

noun

American Indian Movement.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use aim in a sentence

The aim is to cause a domino effect that disrupts the global food-supply chain.
This restaurant duo want a zero-carbon food system. Can it happen?|Bobbie Johnson|September 24, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The aim is to let users correlate meals with changes in blood glucose levels.
Undermyfork scores $400K seed for its diabetes tracking app and US launch|Steve O'Hear|August 28, 2020|TechCrunch
The WhatsApp lawsuit, meanwhile, has taken aim close to the heart of NSO’s business.
Inside NSO, Israel’s billion-dollar spyware giant|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In the context of these crises, our primary aim should be for a system where people are not obligated to work to generate the means to survive.
The Global Work Crisis: Automation, the Case Against Jobs, and What to Do About It|Peter Xing|August 6, 2020|Singularity Hub

The aim is to let users see “detailed information about all the ads they see on the web,” but it will need to get broad buy-in and implementation of Ad Disclosure schema to get there.
Will Google’s Ad Disclosure schema catch on?|Ginny Marvin|July 31, 2020|Search Engine Land
And, as Gow adds wryly from his own personal experience, “To a huge extent they achieved that aim very well.”
‘Nazi Cows’ Tried to Kill British Farmer|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It will still carry a pair of Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM long-range air-to-air missiles and a pair of bombs.
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Fire Its Gun Until 2019|Dave Majumdar|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes, they had a backup aim if their main goal fell through as the night dragged on.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for Shots|Emily Shire|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Raptor carries six AMRAAMs and two shorter range AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles inside its weapons bays.
Pentagon Worries That Russia Can Now Outshoot U.S. Stealth Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To “link up the beachheads and peg out claims well inland” was necessarily the first aim of Overlord.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day|James Jones|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To reproduce the impulse born of the thought—this is the aim of a psychological method.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
She is skilful in seizing salient characteristics, and her chief aim is to preserve the individuality of her sitters and models.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
The next moment a pistol was fired at their head, and a deep groan shewed it had taken too true an aim.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The whole aim is to secure the development of character by the expression of the highest elements of character.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
I have never seen him do anything, although a good act, that did not have a private aim.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various

British Dictionary definitions for aim (1 of 2)

aim

/ (eɪm) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for aim (2 of 2)

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with aim

aim

In addition to the idiom beginning with aim

aim to

also see:

take aim

aim

OTHER WORDS FOR aim

Idioms about aim

Origin of aim

synonym study for aim

OTHER WORDS FROM aim

Words nearby aim

Other definitions for aim (2 of 2)

Words related to aim

How to use aim in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for aim (1 of 2)

Word Origin for aim

British Dictionary definitions for aim (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with aim