aim
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.
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aim
1 American
[eym]
/ eɪm /
verb (used with object)
-
aims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
aimed,
past participle, past
-
aiming
present participle
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- point
-
to intend or direct for a particular effect or purpose.
to aim a satire at snobbery.
verb (used without object)
-
aims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
aimed,
past participle, past
-
aiming
present participle
-
to point or direct a gun, punch, etc., toward.
He aimed at the target but missed it.
-
to strive; try (usually followed by to orat ).
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.
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Obsolete. to estimate; guess.
noun
-
aims
plural
-
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.
idioms
AIM
2
American
[eym]
/ eɪm /
noun
aim
1
British
/ 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 intend
we 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
AIM
2
British
abbreviation
aim
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
aimernoun
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underaimnoun
-
misaimverb
-
underaimverb
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aimfuladjective
-
unaimedadjective
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unaimingadjective
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well-aimedadjective
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aimfullyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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aimsimple
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aimssimple
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have aimedperfect
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has aimedperfect
-
am aimingprogressive
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are aimingprogressive
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is aimingprogressive
-
have been aimingperfect progressive
-
has been aimingperfect progressive
Past
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aimedsimple
-
had aimedperfect
-
was aimingprogressive
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were aimingprogressive
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had been aimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of aim
First recorded in 1275–1325; late Middle English aimen, from Anglo-French a(e)smer, eimer, from Old French aesmer, from Vulgar Latin adaestimāre (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin ad- ad- ( def. ) + aestimāre ( see estimate ( def. )); replacing Middle English amen, from Old French (dialectal) amer, from Latin aestimāre
Explanation
If you wad up a piece of paper and line up a shot at a wastebasket, you are taking aim. If instead, the paper bounces off your teacher's head, then your aim was way off. A purpose or goal is an aim. When you were little, your aim might have been to be a famous astronaut, a movie star, or a police officer. As a verb, aim means to intend, try, or aspire. You may aim to take your dog for three walks every day, but your fenced-in yard tends to make both of you lazy.
Vocabulary lists containing aim
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Israel's aim is to go better than their national team has managed in more than 50 years.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
In their view, the fears are overblown, and Coxon’s resignation has been a tool to accomplish that aim, promoted by some in the effective-altruism movement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
When the inquiry was launched in 2023, its chair Lord Justice Haddon-Cave said it would aim to report, "at least on an interim basis", within 12-18 months.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The city will aim to make research and development account for three percent of gross domestic product after 2030, up from 1.63 percent in 2024, according to an official document.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
But they could only aim by looking at the reflection of the wooden fish in the water below them.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
Its pubs and bars will stay open through the process, but it has been suspended from trading on London's junior AIM stock exchange.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
The desk covers all stocks from the largest FTSE100s to the smallest AIM companies across the whole range of industries and subject matters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026
“Volume growth was driven by stronger demand for Opteon…in connection with the stationary air conditioning…transition under the U.S. AIM Act,” said the company.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
Back then, AIM let you personalize your notification sound whenever you logged on or messaged someone.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2025
In fact, my AIM profile currently contained a list of songs I was listening to on repeat last week—
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
It also aims to help build a broader bioengineered, silicon-based materials ecosystem by connecting researchers, industry partners, policymakers, educators, and future innovators across multiple disciplines and sectors.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Pantoja aims to reclaim the belt he lost at UFC 331, with the main event beginning at 6 p.m. and streaming on Paramount+.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Mr. Mancall aims to show “how the territory that became America . . . reflected the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Africans and Europeans.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The site is central to a restoration programme that aims to boost this type of specialist habitat across the county.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
She cups her big mouth and aims it skyward.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
The new incentive is aimed at bringing back jobs for the industry’s editors, sound mixers, composers and visual effects artists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Social Security, unemployment insurance and an assortment of jobs programs aimed to make economic life less risky and more predictable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
On top of that, further rate hikes aimed at taming inflation also risk slowing down the economy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Last year, Bengio founded the non-profit LawZero, aimed at creating a new form of advanced AI that is "designed to be trustworthy and safe."
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
She interrupts me a lot, sometimes asking me to repeat something I said, and sometimes it’s with another question aimed at clarifying how and why certain things happened.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
The ministers will appoint an external reviewer with the review aiming to launch in late October and conclude by the end of February 2027.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The City forward is the younger of two brothers at the club, with Tyrone also involved in the youth team, and will now be aiming to play more first-team minutes after an exciting debut.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
By throwing a naive character into this environment, what were you aiming to expose about the difference between posturing around these subcultures and the lived reality of them?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Blurred lines among classes of weapons call for defenses that are more integrated and prepared for a spectrum of threats aiming to overwhelm air defenses, say military specialists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Still, my parents held fast to the idea that he should keep all options open, aiming to get himself into the best college possible.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
