goal

[ gohl ]

See synonyms for: goal goals goalless on Thesaurus.com

noun

the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end: Her goal was clear—to get accepted to Yale.
the terminal point in a race.

a pole, line, or other marker by which such a point is indicated.
an area, basket, cage, or other object or structure toward or into which players of various games attempt to throw, carry, kick, hit, or drive a ball, puck, etc., to score a point or points.
the act of throwing, carrying, kicking, driving, etc., a ball or puck into such an area or object.
the score made by this act.
#goals, goals. (used especially as a hashtag in social media in reference to things or people one aspires to or wants to emulate): My #goals have been forever altered by your new #thinspo profile pic.Graduating debt-free is goals.Got my kids to eat their pizza without picking off the spinach and mushrooms. #nutrition #goals #mommy #doingitright

Origin of goal

First recorded in 1325–50; Middle English gol “boundary, limit”; further origin uncertain; compare Old English gǣlan “to hinder, impede”

word story For goal

Goal has no reliable etymology. It appears for the first and only time in Middle English as gol “boundary, limit” in the mid-14th century. Some authorities suggest that gol was a borrowing from Middle French gaule, waulle “pole, stick,” from an unattested Germanic cognate of Old Frisian waal, walu “rod,” which is of no real help. The second recorded occurrence of goal, then spelled gole, is in the first half of the 16th century, with the meaning “finishing point of a race, finish line.” The extended sense “aim or purpose, outcome of effort or ambition” also dates from the first half of the 16th century. By the late 16th century, goal, at this point spelled goale, had also acquired the meaning, now obsolete, “starting point of a race,” a translation of one of the many meanings of Latin fīnis (which also meant “boundary, limit” and “finishing point of a race, finish line”).

Other words for goal

1	target; purpose, object, objective, intent, intention
2	finish

See synonyms for goal on Thesaurus.com

Other words from goal

goal·less, adjective
sub·goal, noun

Words Nearby goal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use goal in a sentence

The goal is not just about being the Greatest Of All Time, Kan adds.
With Goat Capital, Justin Kan and Robin Chan want to keep founding alongside the right teams | Eric Eldon | September 17, 2020 | TechCrunch
“My goal as a board member is to try to make sure we, as a school system, learn from this mistake and get better as a result,” she wrote in an email.
When a Calculus Class Abruptly Became Ceramics at Lincoln High | Scott Lewis | September 16, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
Fed chair Jerome Powell first said last month that the Fed would seek inflation above 2% over time, rather than just keeping it as a static goal.
Fed leaves short-term interest rates unchanged at nearly zero | Lee Clifford | September 16, 2020 | Fortune
DeChiaro joined Golf nearly a year-and-a-half ago and came in with the goal of making Golf less dependent on ad revenue.
‘One endless loop’: How Golf is using its new retail marketplace as a first-party data play | Kayleigh Barber | September 16, 2020 | Digiday
Key to that goal is hammering home his ban on travel from China and his administration’s work to provide ventilators.
Trump, in town hall, says he wouldn’t have done anything differently on pandemic | Colby Itkowitz, Josh Dawsey, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner | September 16, 2020 | Washington Post

So however detailed the statistics of the battlefield are, they cannot achieve the goal.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
So, as far as Mexican officials like Peña Nieto are concerned, the goal is to keep their countrymen here — and keep them happy.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting | Ruben Navarrette Jr. | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
The goal is to create a literary anatomy of the last century—or, to be precise, from 1900 to 2014.
The 2014 Novel of the Year | Nathaniel Rich | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
His goal: to make the perfect (and absolutely comfortable) high-heel, with the help from Nike CEO Mark Parker.
What, and Who, You'll Be Wearing in 2015 | Justin Jones | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The NYPD remained his ultimate goal as he went to work as a carrier for Airborne Express/DHL and then as a school safety officer.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops | Michael Daly | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I know I strive after the unattainable, but still every year I get nearer and nearer to the goal.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
Here again the first thing necessary is a clear vision of the goal towards which we are to strive.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
With a definite goal in mind at last, the children set out again with a better spirit.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler Warner
With the next fellow as a goal, he gradually crept alongside, and passed him with a spurt.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler Warner
He is a man who takes life seriously, and whom nothing will divert from the road that leads to the goal.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell

British Dictionary definitions for goal

goal

/ (ɡəʊl) /

noun

the aim or object towards which an endeavour is directed
the terminal point of a journey or race

(in various sports) the net, basket, etc into or over which players try to propel the ball, puck, etc, to score
sport
- a successful attempt at scoring
- the score so made
(in soccer, hockey, etc) the position of goalkeeper

Origin of goal

C16: perhaps related to Middle English gol boundary, Old English gǣlan to hinder, impede

Derived forms of goal

goalless, adjective

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

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