| 释义 |
▪ I. target, n.1|ˈtɑːgɪt|
Forms: α. 5 tergett, 5–7 targett, 4– target; β. 5–6 targat, 6 -gatt, tergat(e, -guette, Sc. tergatt, tarcat, 6–7 targuet.
[dim. of targe n.1: cf. F. targete, -ette, also 15–16th c. targuet(t)e, It. targhetta.
The actual history is uncertain, chiefly from the ambiguity of the spelling target. The current pronunciation with ‘hard g’ |g| is carried back to 15th c. by the spelling targat (so in 16th c. -guet), but the early spelling target might be |ˈtɑːrdʒɛt|, which would have been the natural English diminutive of targe. In French also, the ordinary form was targete, targette |-ʒɛt|; but, alongside of this, targuete |-gɛt|, is cited of 1494, and -guette in 16th c. (possibly after Pr. targuetta or It. targhetta). It is possible that Eng. target had at first ‘soft g’ |dʒ| after targe and OF. target(t)e, but that this was at an early date changed to the present pronunciation with ‘hard g’, after F. targuet(t)e, and the Prov. and Italian forms.]
1. A light round shield or buckler; a small targe. Also fig. Now chiefly Hist.
αc1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxi. 97 Þai bere a grete target, with whilk þai couer all þaire body. a1400–50Alexander 2622 Taches in-to targetis tamed þaire brenys. c1440Promp. Parv. 487/1 Ta(r)get, or defence,..scutum, ancile. 1483Cath. Angl. 380/1 A Tergett, pelta. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 2 The kynges banner and courser, his coate of armes, his sworde, his target, and his helme. 1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. i. iv. (1821) 55 At whom hee discharged his Pistoll, which lighted upon his Targett. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 147 [The highlanders] carried great wooden targets, large enough to cover the upper part of their bodies. 1791Boswell Johnson 17 Oct. an. 1773, He strutted about the room with a broad sword and target. 1869Boutell Arms & Arm. ix. (1874) 164 The Scots auxiliary troops, who took a part with the French forces at the battle of Fontenoy, appeared with shields or targets.
β14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 615/27 Targia, a targat, or a pavys. 1507Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. III. 394 To Simon Glasfurd buklarmakar, for hornyng of foure tergatis,..iij li. 1508Ibid. IV. 121 Item, payit..for ane sicht of ane tarcat, thre lokkis to basnetis, xij bukkilles. 1513Douglas æneis viii. vii. 146 The horrible tergate, bustuus Egida, Quhilk is the grevit Pallas grysly scheild. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 314 The image of the same Quintus made with his terguette. 1556Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 93 Havyng their targattes on their sholderes.
†2.
a. A shield-shaped ornament or plaque of precious metal, often jewelled, worn esp. as a decoration in the head-dress. Sc. Obs.
1507Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. IV. 15 Tua targetis for bonetis hornyt with gold for bonetis. 1542Inv. Roy. Wardrobe (1815) 68 Item ane bonet of blak velvott with ane tergat of the marmadin, hir taill of dyamonttis. 1556Lauder Tractate 439 Nocht haueand respect..To Tergats, Chenis, nor goldin Ryngis. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 368 He gaif hir great giftis of cheinzeis targattis and tablattis and ringis. a1600Johnie Armstrong, Ther hang nine Targats at Johnys Hat, And ilk an worth Three hundred Pound.
†b. A piece of money: app. a scudo, an écu.[Cf. med.L. scutum, scutatum a coin of the early French kings (Du Cange).] 1671H. M. tr. Erasm. Colloq. 79 What price dost thou set upon thyself? At ten targets [orig. Decem scutatis].
3. a. A shield-like structure, marked with concentric circles, set up to be aimed at in shooting practice; hence, any object used for the purpose, and transf., spec. (a) a place or object selected for military attack, esp. by aerial bombing or missile assault; (b) a part of the body at which a boxer directs his attack.
1757E. Perronet Mitre i. cxxxix, The Target of the Muse. [Note. This word is here used in the military sense, and signifies a But or mark to be shot at.] 1801Strutt Sports & Past. ii. i. §17, I have seen the gentlemen who practise archery in the vicinity of London, repeatedly shoot from end to end, and not touch the target with an arrow. 1802–16C. James Milit. Dict., Target,..a mark for the artillery, &c. to fire at in their practice. 1859Musketry Instr. iv. 51 The targets are to be six feet in height and two in breadth, constructed of iron of sufficient thickness to be rifle-bullet proof. 1871Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (1879) I. xvi. 423 In firing a ball against a target the projectile, after collision, is often found hot.
transf.1902Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 380/2 Taking range and size of target together, the most advantageous position is to be on the bow of the enemy while he bears abaft your beam. 1914Hamel & Turner Flying xvi. 285 A pilot will have to make three or four attempts before..a bomb can be released in any hope of getting near the target. 1921J. Driscoll Text-bk. Boxing 70 The ‘jaw’ target is..preferable, if it should happen to be exposed. 1958F. C. Avis Boxing Ref. Dict. 112 Target, that part of the boxer's body which may properly be punched, namely, the entire front and side parts of the body above the belt and the head. 1959Chambers's Encycl. XIII. 430/1 The bomber force was sent out and so timed as to converge upon the target and complete the entire attack within a few minutes. 1971H. Macmillan Riding Storm viii. 272 The R.A.F. carried out a number of rocket attacks on military targets.
fig.1900Ld. Roberts in Daily News 27 July 5/3 The enemy were strongly entrenched, fought stubbornly, and gave no target.
b. fig. Something aimed at or to be aimed at; esp. a person who is the object of general abuse, scorn, derision, or the like; = butt n.4 5.
1757[see 3]. 1842Tennyson Locksley Hall 146 They to whom my foolish passion were a target for their scorn. 1889Tablet 14 Dec. 947 A target for the abuse of the prejudiced, the ignorant and the profane. 1906Times 24 July 8/5 A target for popular ridicule.
c. A shooting match; the score made at such a match.
1825Sporting Mag. XVI. 426 A grand target of the Reedwood Foresters took place the middle of August at Blithfield. 1858Greener Gunnery 313 A comparison between the largest ‘target’ of to-day, and the best that Colonel Hawker ever made with his crack Joe Manton, will show a progressive improvement of nearly 100 per cent., not only in closeness of shooting, but also in penetration. 1884Pall Mall G. 26 July 8/2 The Artists' team have made a magnificent target, and are scarcely likely to be beaten.
d. Physics. The object or material at which a beam of atomic or sub-atomic particles is directed, as in a cathode-ray tube or particle accelerator.
1915Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 593/1 This anti-kathode (or target), enabling us to focus the rays, was introduced by Herbert Jackson. 1932Proc. R. Soc. A. CXXXVII. 230 A target, A, of the metal to be investigated is placed at an angle of 45 degrees to the direction of the proton stream. 1953Amos & Birkinshaw Television Engin. I. x. 217 The action of television camera tubes is dependent on an electron beam which is focused on the target and deflected so as to cover it in a series of scanning lines. 1961G. R. Choppin Exper. Nuclear Chem. viii. 111 In a cyclotron, only one target at a time may be irradiated. 1975D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. xi. 61 The target becomes positively charged in proportion to the light intensity.
e. Biol. and Med. A region in a cell which is especially sensitive to radiation.
1936D. E. Lea et al. in Proc. R. Soc. B. CXX. 56 The hypothesis that the bacterium is uniformly sensitive to radiation throughout its volume raises..difficulties, and attention will therefore be turned to the alternative hypothesis that a target exists which is specially sensitive. 1968Brit. Med. Bull. XXIV. 244/2 The curve can be represented by a model in which each of several targets in the organism must interact with radiation. 1979I. M. Leahy et al. Nurse & Radiotherapy iii. 30 Targets are necessarily very small and are usually assumed to be within the nucleus or the DNA material itself.
f. colloq. An amount set as a (minimum) objective, esp. in fund-raising; a result (i.e. a figure, sum of money, etc.) aimed at. Phr. on target, on the right track, as forecast. Hence loosely, any goal which one strives to achieve.
1942N. & Q. CLXXXIII. 256/1 Target. Who invented the ingenious use of this word for the amount aimed at in a public subscription? I think the use has been extended to things like coal consumption. 1943Ann. Reg. 1942 307 The London Warship Week resulted in 146,065,225l. being raised as against the original target of 125,000,000l. 1951E. Gowers ABC of Plain Words 133 If target was to have all the stimulating force it was capable of, it would not do to treat it as a live metaphor, and exhort people to do nothing more exciting..than merely to hit it. So we were offered a great variety of things that we might meritoriously do to our targets. We might reach them, achieve them, attain them or obtain them; we were to feel greatly encouraged if we came in sight of the target to which we were trying to do whatever we were trying to do, and correspondingly depressed if we found ourselves either a long way behind it or (what apparently amounts to the same thing) a long way short of it. 1952Sat. Rev. 20 Sept. 9/2 There are legislative targets, crop targets, charity targets, gross national product targets. 1964F. Chichester Lonely Sea & Sky xxxii. 333, I had failed to beat my 30 day target by 3 days, 15 hours, 7 minutes. 1967Time 18 Aug. 88 Diddy is sure he did it; yet a blind girl near by who hears all and who proves to be on target about everything else, says he never left his seat. 1977Times 10 Aug. 5/5 There has been unrealistic targeteering; the 1960s building target of 500,000 was never required. 1981Times 23 Oct. 22/1 First-half results from Jeavons Engineering are on target at {pstlg}306,000 pre-tax.
g. Linguistics. = output n. 1 e.
1970J. Hill in Linguistic Inquiry I. 539 The formal statement of the HAB formation rule of Cupeño..is not going to be like the usual..rule involving description of input..; it can instead be visualized as involving first a statement of the target or output, and then a statement for reaching the target. 1977Language LIII. 209 This constraint is a target; i.e., a number of rules of various types conspire to keep the verb in sentential second position.
4. Applied to various objects resembling a target or shield.
†a. A cymbal. Obs.
1696tr. Du Mont's Voy. Levant xxi. 275 They have a kind of Violin, with three Strings,..and several little Brazen Targets, which..they knock against one another.
b. Cookery. The neck and breast of lamb as a joint; the fore-quarter without the shoulder.
1756Gray Let. to W. Mason 19 Dec., Lord Surrey loved buttered lyng and targets of mutton for breakfast. 1872M. Jewry Every-day Cookery 72/2 Roast Target of Lamb. Ibid., Target is only the breast and neck joints not separated.
c. The sliding sight on a levelling staff; a vane.
d. A disc-shaped signal on a railway switch, etc., indicating its position. U.S.
1877Knight Dict. Mech., Target,..the sight, sliding on a leveling-staff. Also called a vane. 1884Ibid. Suppl. 810/1 Two targets, generally a round and an oblong one, and generally painted red and white respectively, are set at right angles to each other on a revolving shaft. Ibid., A common form of ordinary switches is an upright pivoted lever with target on top. 1900H. M. Wilson Topogr. Surveying xv. 311 Leveling rods are of two general types: 1 Target rods; and 2 Speaking of self-reading rods. Ibid. 313 The Boston [leveling] rod has a fixed target, and all readings upon it are obtained by extending the rod.
5. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 3) target-firing, target-practice, target-range, target seeking, target-shooting, target-shot; target-like, target-proof, target-shaped adjs.; target-practise vb.; (appositively) designating an object of attack, as target area, target boat, target vehicle, etc.; (see also target ship); transf., esp. of a particular group over which influence is sought, as target audience, target company, target group, target population; (sense 3 d) target nucleus, target volume; (sense 3 f, passing into adj.) by which the desired goal is specified, as target date, target figure, target output, target prize, target size, etc.; target-card: see quot.; target cell Biol. and Med., an abnormal form of red blood cell which appears as a dark ring surrounding a dark central spot in stained blood films; hence target cell anæmia, descriptive of any anæmia in which target cells are abundant; target dialect, the variety of a language learned as a second dialect; † target-fence, a protective fence or covering formed by targets or shields; a testudo; target indicator, an object, as a flare, dropped in order to illuminate or delimit a target for aerial bombing; target-lamp, -lantern, U.S., a lamp or lantern attached to a signal-target (see sense 4 d), the function of which it discharges at night; target man, † (a) a man armed with a target (obs.); (b) U.S. a signal-man who works signalling targets: see sense 4 d; (c) Assoc. Football (see quot. 1978); target organ Biol., any organ which responds to a particular hormone or hormones in the body (cf. target tissue below); target program Computers = object program s.v. object n. 10; target-rifle, a rifle adapted to target-shooting; † target-roof, a testudo (= target-fence); target-ship, a condemned ship used as a target; target theory Biol. and Med. (see quots. and cf. sense 3 e above); target tissue Biol., any tissue which responds to a particular hormone or hormones within an organism (cf. target organ above). See also target language.
1936Proc. R. Soc. B. CXX. 57 To prove that the target is a biological reality..the obvious experiment..is to use several different intensities of alpha rays and beta rays and to calculate the *target area in each experiment. 1939W. S. Churchill in New Statesman 7 Jan. 6/2, I think a great mistake has been made in spreading our A.R.P. efforts over the whole country, instead of concentrating on what I should call the target areas. 1958F. C. Avis Boxing Dict. 77 Off the target, not connecting the opponent in the target area. 1980J. McClure Blood of Englishman xxv. 232 ‘Target area coming up,’ he said, picking up the line of a wriggling dirt road... They were down to about 600 feet above the ground.
1956U.S. Air Force Dict. 513/2 *Target audience, in psychological warfare, the people at whom propaganda is directed. 1982Underground Grammarian Sept. 2/2 In order to broaden the ‘target audience’ of your newsletter..I might suggest that such material be written at a lower level of readability.
1934T. E. Lawrence Let. 8 June (1938) 805 At the moment we are all up to the teeth in 5 more *target boats.
1875Encycl. Brit. II. 378 (Archery) *Target-card, a card coloured in the same manner as the target, containing the names of the shooters, and used for scoring their respective hits.
[1938A. M. Barrett in Jrnl. Path. & Bacteriol. XLVI. 603 They will here be called ‘target types of red blood corpuscle’, or more briefly, ‘target corpuscles’. I have deliberately chosen a name which refers only to their appearance in stained films and not to their three-dimensional form. ] Ibid. 605 Often the frequency of *target cells appeared to be affected by the thickness or thinness of the film.1940W. Dameshek in Amer. Jrnl. Med. Sci. CC. 445 Since an outstanding abnormality was the presence of large numbers of peculiar erythrocytes designated as ‘target cells’ by Barrett, the name ‘target cell anemia’ was adopted for this previously undescribed condition. 1969Edington & Gilles Path. in Tropics x. 353 Excluding films obtained from persons homozygous or heterozygous for haemoglobin C, a high percentage of target cells in normal blood films has been observed in Ghana, Nigeria, and from East Africa.
1977Time 17 Oct. 58/3 The firm that eventually acquires the *target company.
1945W. S. Churchill Victory (1946) 108 Full hutting..is nearing completion, the *target date for which is May. 1977Whitaker's Almanack 1978 595 The Rhodesia conference in Geneva became deadlocked when leaders of White and Black delegations failed to agree on a target date for legal independence.
1972J. L. Dillard Black Eng. vii. 293 The Network Standard dialect, for which both white and Black speakers have shown marked preferences, is obviously the preferable *target dialect.
1598R. Grenewey Tacitus, Ann. xiii. ix. (1622) 191 Hauing deuided his armie into foure parts, he [Corbulo] lead some close and thicke ranked together, for a *target fence to vndermine and beate downe the rampire. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. lxix. (1663) 280 The Elephants withall setting their Trunks to the target fences..tore them down in such sort, as not one of them remained entire.
1978J. Irving World according to Garp viii. 163 Roberta was a *target figure; she had made some people very angry.
1832G. Downes Lett. Cont. Countries I. 138 A shooting-establishment, where *target-firing is practised.
1972Times 13 Dec. 4/7 It made no discriminations among *target groups. 1979Bull. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Mar. 33 The programs to be undertaken in reaching these target groups were to involve workers in both the public and private sectors of health, agriculture, and education.
1944Times 11 Apr. 4/4 The attack began with the dropping of *target-indicators through cloud.
1555Eden Decades 55 He browght furth al his *target men for feare of theyr venemous arrowes. 1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. s.v. Signaling Target, Turned by the target⁓man by means of a hand-lever. [1974Times 23 Feb. 14/8 Even eight, nine and ten-year-olds these days are taught by games masters in terms of ‘striker’, ‘target player’..and the rest.] 1975Times 14 Oct. 10/2 (caption) Stuart Pearson, a target man with Manchester United. 1978Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 28 May 34/4 Target man, forward, usually a large one, used in central positions where colleagues can find him with long passes, usually to his head.
1955Friedman & Weisskopf in W. Pauli Niels Bohr 134 According to this model the effect of the *target nucleus upon an incident particle can be described, at least as a first approximation, by an attractive potential.
1947H. Selye Textbk. Endocrinol. 17/1 The so-called ‘*target organs’ or ‘end organs’ do not necessarily react to hormones under all conditions. 1972Sci. Amer. Nov. 24/1 The pituitary secretes several complex hormones that travel through the bloodstream to target organs, notably the thyroid gland, the gonads and the cortex of the adrenal glands.
1944Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War. 27 Oct. 1943–11 Apr. 1944. 441 Once more the merchantship *target output was achieved.
1971Computers & Humanities V. 292 SPIRES is based on a behavioral science analysis of the information needs of a *target population.
1844Regul. & Ord. Army 288 The Surgeon, or Assistant-Surgeon, is to attend all Field Days, and invariably at *Target-practice. 1902Bible Student Oct. 198 They may safely tolerate attacks as the target practice of children.
1949H. Preece in B. A. Botkin Treas. S. Folklore ii. iv. 341 The rumbling underground is Britt Bailey *target-practising for a million years of shooting in hell. 1982Sunday Sun-Times (Chicago) 8 Aug. 9 A witness..allegedly saw Hartmann's widow, Debra, target practicing at a suburban gun shop.
1962*Target price [see off-farm s.v. off- 4 b].
1969P. B. Jordain Condensed Computer Encycl. 516 The process begins with a source-language program..and ends with a *target program. 1979Personal Computer World Nov. 84/1 Any areas of data must be excluded from both and left intact as they are used by both the target program and the trace routine.
1895Outing (U.S.) XXVI. 79/1 The State owns two large *target ranges which are also used as camp grounds.
1901Westm. Gaz. 23 Dec. 4/3 As a *target-rifle the Lee-Metford is by no means in the front rank.
1601Holland Pliny I. 189 The vse..of the pauois, mantelets, *targuet⁓roofs, for the assault of cities. 1610― Camden's Brit. i. 36 The Romans with a Testudo, or targuet-roofe..tooke the place.
1947Britannica Bk. of Year 841/2 *Target-seeking missile, a missile, equipped with a target-seeking mechanism, which is attracted toward its target when it approaches its vicinity. 1977R. Air Force Yearbk. 4/2 (caption) A Harrier GR Mk 3..with laser-ranging and target-seeking equipment in the nose.
1837P. Keith Bot. Lex. 200 The pedicle..supports a *target-shaped substance.
1901Pall Mall G. 23 July 1 A *target ship, on board of which every new type of armour was tested.
1855Geo. Eliot in Fraser's Mag. LI. 706/2, I will tell you of Weimar fairs and *target-shooting.
1905Blackw. Mag. May 646/2 It is foolish for an indifferent *target-shot to go lion-hunting.
1966Observer 17 Apr. 10/3 Is there any magic in the figure of 30—the *target size for classes?
1936D. E. Lea et al. in Proc. R. Soc. B. CXX. 62 That regions of special sensitivity to radiation do exist..has been demonstrated and the additional postulate of the *target theory, namely that there is only one such region, in an individual organism, is not improbable for bacteria. 1979I. M. Leahy et al. Nurse & Radiotherapy iii. 30 One theory that has proved to be applicable to radiation biology experimentation is known as target theory. Briefly stated, this theory proposes that if alterations are produced within certain critical molecules in the cell, the loss of vital function that would result would lead to the death of the cell.
1960Jensen & Jacobsen in Pincus & Vollmer. Biol. Activities Steroids iii. 162 Information concerning the chemical fate—in the specific *target tissues—of physiological amounts of steroid sex hormones should prove of value. 1974M. C. Gerald Pharmacol. xxiii. 409 Whereas growth hormone and thyroid hormone are capable of influencing virtually all the cells of the body, most hormones act rather selectively on specific tissues referred to as target tissues. 1975Sci. Amer. July 94/1 Where trees are concerned one of the target tissues for auxin is the cambium.
1965New Scientist 18 Mar. 701/2 The spacecraft will be manoeuvred by the pilots to approach the *target vehicle closely, and finally to dock with it in a firm, mechanical manner.
1946D. E. Lea Actions of Radiations iii. 91 That dose..produces an average of one cluster in a volume equal to the *target volume.
Add:[3.] h. A person who is the object of a security or espionage operation, esp. one kept under surveillance as a suspected spy. orig. U.S.
1958R. I. Perusse in Daugherty & Janowitz Psychol. Warfare Casebk. ii. 34 The expressions..‘psychological operations’, and ‘target’ should..be avoided. US observers can vouch for the discomfiture of foreign peoples at being considered by us as a fitting subject for manipulation. 1972D. Bloodworth Any Number can Play ix. 69 You have doubtless read about the..‘swallows’ of the KGB, the young ladies trained..to bed down intelligence targets, so that they can be comfortably and conveniently bugged and photographed in compromising..positions? 1982J. Bingham Brock & Defector iii. 49 A target in love with an agent was okay, but an agent in love with a target was bad news.
▸ target-rich adj. orig. U.S. Mil. having numerous sites regarded as potential targets for attack.
1978Aviation Week 13 Mar. 167/2 Their ‘complex search, identification, arm and fire sequences..leave much to be desired when you are in a *target-rich environment’. 2004Time (Electronic ed.) 29 Mar. 26 Yes, New York City is more target rich,..but there's been a lot of added security there.
▪ II. ˈtarget, n.2 Sc.
[Etym. uncertain; Jamieson compares Sw. targa to tear.]
A tatter, a shred.
1773R. Fergusson Compl. Plainstanes 86 The weight o' ilka codroch chiel, That does my skin to targets peel. 1789D. Davidson Th. Seasons 120 Until her apron was sae stent, The strings in targets, flew.
b. targets of skate, ‘long slices of this fish dried’ (Jam.).
▪ III. ˈtarget, v.
[f. target n.1]
†1. trans. To protect with or as with a target; to shield. Obs.
1611G. H. Anti-Coton 18 [He] targets himselfe with the authoritie of Siluester. 1686F. Spence tr. Varillas' Ho. Medicis 337 The garrison of Florence..was not sufficient to ward and target it from insult.
2. To use (a person) as a target. Also fig.
1837Fraser's Mag. XVI. 244 If you doubt my word, load and target me again. 1844W. H. Maxwell Sports & Adv. Scotl. iii. (1855) 49 To be targetted through..the..news⁓papers and executed afterwards in effigy.
3. U.S. To signal the position of (a railway switch, etc.) by means of a target (target n.1 4 d).
1893Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 17 Nov., The crews of both trains claim to have had the crossing targeted.
4. To plan or schedule (something) to attain an objective. Chiefly in Econ.
1948Observer 14 Mar. 3/6 Even herrings have targets now: 175,000 tons of fish are being ‘targeted’ to yield 17,000 tons of oil a year. 1959Time (Atlantic ed.) 17 Aug. 53 Exports of heavy goods..are targeted to rise this year some 40%. 1972Newsweek 7 Aug. 43/3 With test flights now targeted for 1976, the Shuttle is expected to be ready for operational missions in 1978. 1973Daily Tel. 8 Dec. 23/2 Investment income..is targeted to reach {pstlg}1 million in two years.
5. To aim (a nuclear weapon) at a target. Freq. const. on.
1964Financial Times 23 Mar. (Defence Suppl.) 17/4 The Soviet presence..comprises..a force of about 100 MRBMs targeted on Japan. 1972Sci. Amer. Nov. 21/1 Each missile launches a ‘bus’, which has on board a large number of reentry missiles, each of which can be accurately and independently targeted. 1978Observer 25 June 21/3 There were enough warheads to target some on China as well.
transf.1973Times 2 Nov. 4/2 The scheme is targeted at those wanting to buy an older property. 1974Nature 1 Mar. 1/1 Research money should be targeted on problems whose solution would have the greatest benefit for society. 1983New Scientist 21 July 208/1 Practical conservation can rarely preserve an entire fauna: rather it is targeted at particular species.
6. To mark out or identify (a place, person, etc.) as a target. Chiefly U.S.
1966Guardian 30 Dec. 14/8 US policy is to target North Vietnamese military targets only. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 27 Nov. 5/1 He has no worlds left to conquer, for NCEC has captured all the ‘marginal’ conservative seats it had targeted. 1978S. Brill Teamsters vii. 297 The airline industry was being targeted for a recruiting drive. 1983Listener 25 Aug. 4/3 They've targeted 22 airlines for special treatment.
7. To direct or aim on a course. Freq. const. to.
1974Nature 1 Mar. 16/3 Temperature profiles of the moons of those planets will be helpful in targeting the spacecraft to take a look at the most interesting features. 1976Sci. Amer. June 74/1 The second spacecraft will be targeted to fly past Saturn and on toward Uranus. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 21 Aug. 3/3 Then allocations are made with about one-third going to state governments and two-thirds to local governments, targeted to those jurisdictions with the highest unemployment. 1980Sci. Amer. Aug. 88/2 Highly specialized transport systems that are in effect independent of the tissue through which they convey substances might be exploited as a means of ‘targeting’ therapeutic drugs for particular organs or tissues. 1981New Scientist 6 Aug. 343/2 Later perhaps it will be possible to target liposomes or red cells..to whatever part of the body they are needed [sic].
Hence ˈtargeting vbl. n.
1961Guardian 24 Oct. 8/4 Being forced to rely on so much inspection..that targeting information would be given away to the other side. 1963Newsweek 11 Feb. 23 Planners have recently put forward the notion of city-avoidance, a tacit agreement between potential enemies to arrange their targeting so that missiles are aimed at military objectives rather than civilian populations. 1968Economist 8 June 65/2 A general complaint is that consultants sometimes stick too much to their business precepts, such as ‘targeting’ and do not bend enough to the particular needs of the company. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 27 Nov. 5/1 NCEC laid out $350,000 for candidates in 1976. That paid for 64 polls in 32 separate congressional districts and for computerized precinct targeting and analysis in more than 40 districts. 1977Time 21 Nov. 24/2 None of these possess as sophisticated a targeting system as the new Soviet model's [sc. a T-72 tank]. 1982Financial Times 13 Mar. 14/1 In terms of targeting ability. |