- target
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 sb/sth that you try to destroy, hurt, steal, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ favourite/favorite, frequent, important, likely, natural, obvious, perfect, possible, potential, prime, suitable▪
The President is a favourite/favorite target of comedians.
▪ attractive, tempting▪Trains are attractive targets for terrorists.
▪ specific▪ real▪The real target of his satire is religion.
▪ easy, sitting, soft, tempting, vulnerable▪The stationary trucks were sitting targets for the enemy planes.
▪ legitimate▪ intended▪ fixed, stationary▪ moving▪ ground▪ enemy, military, strategic▪ civilian, non-military▪ high-value▪ terrorist▪ takeover▪The company could become a takeover target.
VERB + TARGET▪ choose, identify, pick▪ aim at, attack, engage, go for, shoot at▪ find, locate▪ hit, reach, strike▪The bomb reached its intended target ten seconds later.
▪ miss, overshoot▪The flare overshot its target and set fire to a hotel.
▪ destroy▪The missile is intended to destroy military targets.
▪ track▪The radar beam can track a number of targets simultaneously.
▪ present▪The damaged ship presented a tempting target.
▪ make▪The casino made an easy target for thieves.
TARGET + NOUN▪ site▪It should be possible to deliver the drug direct to the target site.
▪The missile never reached its target site.
PREPOSITION▪ off target▪The missile veered way off target and landed in the sea.
▪ on target▪Politically speaking, his jibes were right on target.
▪ target for▪an easy target for thieves
2 object that you shoot atVERB + TARGET▪ put up, set up▪The archers were setting up their targets.
▪ aim at, shoot at▪ hit▪ miss▪ use sth as▪The boys used an old tree stump as a target.
TARGET + NOUN▪ area, range▪ practicePREPOSITION▪ off target▪Patton was just off target with his shot.
▪ on target▪His first shot was bang on target.
▪ wide of the target▪The shot went wide of the target.
3 result, person, etc. that you aim to reachADJECTIVE▪ achievable, attainable (esp. BrE), low, modest, realistic▪ ambitious, challenging (esp. BrE), demanding (esp. BrE), difficult, high, tough, unrealistic▪She has always set herself very high targets.
▪ impossible▪ new▪ clear, specific▪ chief, key, main, major, primary, prime, principal▪ annual▪ immediate, initial▪ future, long-term, ultimate▪ economic, financial, growth, inflation, performance, price, production, profit, recruitment, sales, spending▪Hospital performance targets will not be met.
VERB + TARGET▪ set▪Managers must set targets that are realistic.
▪ aim for▪Students should be given a target to aim for.
▪ achieve, meet, reach▪ stay on/within▪in a desperate attempt to stay within budget targets
▪ exceed▪The company pays bonuses to workers who exceed production targets.
▪ fall short ofTARGET + NOUN▪ audience, demographic (esp. AmE), group, market, population▪The film's target demographic is women aged 18–49 years.
▪ date▪to meet a target date of May 2002
▪ figure (esp. BrE), level, price, range, weightPREPOSITION▪ above (a/the) target▪Sales so far this year are 20% above target.
▪ off target▪These figures are way off target.
▪ on target▪We are still right on target.
▪ within target▪We are well within our target for trains arriving on time.
▪ over (a/the) target▪Many pay agreements reached were over the original target of 4%.
▪ towards/toward (a/the) target▪We are working towards/toward a target of twenty cars a week.
▪ target for▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}The CEO has set new targets for growth.
verbADVERB▪ deliberately, intentionally, particularly, specifically▪Children are deliberately targeted.
▪ actively (esp. BrE), directly▪Police are actively targeting known offenders.
▪an exercise that directly targets the back muscles
▪ carefully, precisely▪a carefully targeted marketing campaign
▪ unfairly▪The authority was accused of unfairly targeting minority groups.
▪ primarilyPREPOSITION▪ at▪The products are targeted at young people.
▪ for▪This hospital is targeted for additional funding.
▪ on▪Tax cuts should be targeted on the poor.
▪ towards/toward▪We target our services towards/toward specific groups of people.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
