bull's-eye

American  

[boolz-ahy] / ˈbʊlzˌaɪ /

noun

PLURAL

bull's-eyes

1. the circular spot, usually black or outlined in black, at the center of a target marked with concentric circles and used in target practice.

2. a shot that hits this.

3. the center or central area of a military target, as of a town or factory, in a bombing raid.

4. a missile that strikes the central area of a target.

5. the coordinates or instance of aiming and firing a missile that results in its hitting the center of a target.

6. Informal.

   1. any statement or act that is precisely to the point or achieves a desired result directly.

   2. something that is decisive or crucial; crux.

7. a small circular opening or window.

8. a thick disk or lenslike piece of glass inserted in a roof, ship's deck, etc., to admit light.

9. Optics.  a lens of short focal length.

10. a lantern equipped with a lens of this sort.

11. Nautical.  an oval or circular wooden block having a groove around it and a hole in the center, through which to reeve a rope.

12. Meteorology.  (formerly) the eye of a storm.

13. a large, round piece of peppermint-flavored hard candy.

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bull's-eye British  

noun

1. the small central disc of a target, usually the highest valued area

2. a shot hitting this

3. informal  something that exactly achieves its aim

4. a small circular or oval window or opening

5. a thick disc of glass set into a ship's deck, etc, to admit light

6. the glass boss at the centre of a sheet of blown glass

7. 1. a small thick plano-convex lens used as a condenser

   2. a lamp or lantern containing such a lens

8. a peppermint-flavoured, usually striped, boiled sweet

9. nautical a circular or oval wooden block with a groove around it for the strop of a shroud and a hole at its centre for a line Compare deadeye

10. meteorol the eye or centre of a cyclone

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Other Word Forms

• bull's-eyed adjective

Etymology

Origin of bull's-eye

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

And while rain continued to fall in some northern portions of the state on Monday, Ms. Hochul said the “bull's-eye” of the storm had moved northeast.

From New York Times

Never before has one of the world’s largest nuclear facilities fallen into the bull's-eye of a large-scale war.

From New York Times

“And after doing many measurements, we hit the bull's-eye,” said another of the study’s authors, Fabian Klenner, who is now an astrobiologist at the University of Washington.

From New York Times

There was a lot more with Mohammed's character I wanted to show — here is a man who fought a country, and now has a bull's-eye on his back.

From Salon

“I remember my editor saying: ‘If there’s one scene that’s got a bull's-eye on it, it’s this one,’” Johnstone said, even suggesting there were moments he was losing faith.

From New York Times

Related Words

• center
• dead center
• omphalos