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.
to intend or direct for a particular effect or purpose: to aim a satire at snobbery.
verb (used without object)
to point or direct a gun, punch, etc., toward: He aimed at the target but missed it.
to strive; try (usually followed by to or at): 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.
Obsolete. to estimate; guess.
noun
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 for aim
take aim, to sight a target: to take aim and fire.
Origin of aim
1275–1325; late Middle English aimen<Anglo-French a(e)smer, eimer,Old French aesmer<Vulgar Latin *adaestimāre, equivalent to Latin ad-ad- + aestimāre (see estimate); replacing Middle English amen<Old French (dial.) amer<Latin aestimāre
SYNONYMS FOR aim
1 point.
8 sighting.
10 target, objective.
11 goal; intent, design.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR aim ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for aim
11. 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.
In the context of these crises, our primary aim should be for a system where people are not obligated to work to generate the means to survive.
The Global Work Crisis: Automation, the Case Against Jobs, and What to Do About It|Peter Xing|August 6, 2020|Singularity Hub
The aim is to let users see “detailed information about all the ads they see on the web,” but it will need to get broad buy-in and implementation of Ad Disclosure schema to get there.
Will Google’s Ad Disclosure schema catch on?|Ginny Marvin|July 31, 2020|Search Engine Land
And, as Gow adds wryly from his own personal experience, “To a huge extent they achieved that aim very well.”
‘Nazi Cows’ Tried to Kill British Farmer|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To “link up the beachheads and peg out claims well inland” was necessarily the first aim of Overlord.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day|James Jones|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their aim was to make beautiful art—and hopefully spark a conversation.
Anatomy of a Drone Porn: ‘Drone Boning’ Makes Sex Look Like Art|Aurora Snow|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It just seemed Monday night, as it has throughout, that her aim was off.