tar‧get 1 S2 W2 AC / tɑɡət, tɑɡɪt $ tɑr- / 名词 [可数名词]
1 aim something that you are trying to achieve, such as a total, an amount, or a time 同义词 goal
sales/attainment/growth etc targets
demanding financial targets
target of
the target of a one-third reduction in road accidents
target for
Higher degrees in English are a target for foreign students.
There is no target date for completion of the new project.
The government may fail to meet (= achieve ) its target of recycling 25% of domestic waste.
Jiang set annual growth targets of 8–9%.
on target (= likely to achieve a target )
The company says that growth of 10% is on target.
2 object of attack an object, person, or place that is deliberately chosen to be attacked
target for/of
Railway stations are prime targets (= very likely targets ) for bombs.
easy/soft target
Cars without security devices are an easy target for the thief.
3 object of an action the person or place that is most directly affected by an action, especially a bad one
target for/of
The area has become a prime target for supermarket development.
The country is a target of criticism for its human rights record.
4 shooting something that you practise shooting at, especially a round board with circles on it :
The area is used by the army for target practice .
5 target audience/group/area etc a limited group, area etc that a plan, idea etc is aimed at :
Our target audience is men aged between 18 and 35.
6 target language the language that you are learning or that you are translating into
COLLOCATIONS
动词
meet a target (= achieve what you want to achieve ) The government wants to meet its target of building three million new homes by 2020.
reach/achieve/hit a target (= meet it ) They achieved their target with just days to spare.
set a target The company has set ambitious business targets.
exceed a target (= achieve more than you wanted to ) We have exceeded our target of £200,000.
fall short of a target (= achieve less than you wanted to ) Car production at the plant has fallen short of its target by 5%.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + target
ambitious/high The targets they have set themselves are hugely ambitious.
modest (= not very high ) The Kyoto Protocol set fairly modest targets for reductions in greenhouse gases.
achievable/realistic The target is achievable, but only by hard work.
a financial target Both businesses exceeded their financial targets.
a sales target I’m confident we will meet our sales target by the end of the year.
a growth target The company’s growth targets have been achieved for the last three years.
target + NOUN
a target date There is no target date set for completion of the new project.
a target figure The government has set a target figure of 6.2%
COLLOCATIONS
形容词
a prime target (= the most suitable or most likely to be chosen ) Sporting events could become a prime target for terrorists.
the main target The rebel-held town is one of the main targets for U S troops.
an easy/soft target Some criminals now regard churches as easy targets.
a sitting target (= someone who is easy to attack ) In the open, the soldiers are sitting targets.
sb’s intended target The gunman missed his intended target.
a military target The group insists that its bombs were directed against military targets.
a civilian target The army denied it had attacked civilian targets.
a legitimate target (= one that it is fair to attack ) The rebels claimed that trains carrying soldiers are a legitimate target.
动词
attack a target They have attacked military targets such as army camps and airfields.
hit a target Not every bomb hit its target.
miss a target All of the missiles missed their target and no-one was killed.
THESAURUS
aim something you hope to achieve by doing something : The main aim of the plan was to provide employment for local people.
goal something important that you hope to achieve in the future, even though it may take a long time : The country can still achieve its goal of reducing poverty by a third.
target a particular amount or total that you want to achieve : The company is on track to meet its target of increasing profits by 10%.
objective the specific thing that you are trying to achieve – used especially about things that have been officially discussed and agreed upon in business, politics etc : Their main objective is to halt the flow of drugs. | We met to set the business objectives for the coming year.
ambition something that you very much want to achieve in your future career : Her ambition was to go to law school and become an attorney. | Earlier this year, he achieved his ambition of competing in the Olympic Games.