Meaning of aim in English

aim

noun

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/eɪm/ us

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/eɪm/

aim noun (INTENTION)

B1 [ C ]

a result that your plans or actions are intended to achieve:

My main aim in life is to be a good husband and father.

Our short-term aim is to deal with our current financial difficulties, but our long-term aim is to improve the company's profitability.

The leaflet has been produced with the aim of increasing public awareness of the disease.

Synonyms

ambition
aspiration (HOPE)
dream  (HOPE)
goal (AIM)
hope 
intent  formal or specialized
intention
object  (PURPOSE)
objective 
target  (AIM)

More examples

The writer's aim was to debunk the myth that had grown up around the actress.
The aim was to cut off the enemy's escape route.
The aim is to improve the public image of the police.
The aim of the association is to perpetuate the skills of traditional furniture design.
She set out with the aim of becoming the youngest ever winner of the championship.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Goals and purposes

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aim noun (POINTING)

[ U ]

the act of pointing a weapon towards something:

He fired six shots at the target, but his aim was terrible, and he missed all of them.

She raised her gun, took aim and fired.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Target sports

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Aiming and aim

aim

verb

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/eɪm/ us

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/eɪm/

aim verb (INTEND)

B1 [ I ]

to intend:

[ + to infinitive ] I aim to be a millionaire by the time I'm 35.

We are aiming for (= planning to achieve) a 50 percent share of the German market.

More examples

We always aim to give our clients personal attention.
Psychoanalysts aim to explore the innermost recesses of the mind.
The Pentagon is aiming to cut US forces by over 25 percent in the next five years.
We're aiming to expand our customer base.
The builders are aiming to get the job done by the end of the month.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Planning, expecting and arranging

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aim verb (POINT)

[ I or T ]

to point or direct a weapon towards someone or something that you want to hit:

Aim (the arrow) a little above the target.

Aim at the yellow circle.

There are hundreds of nuclear missiles aimed at the main cities.

She aimed (= directed) a kick at my shins.

Let's aim for (= go in the direction of) Coventry first, and then we'll have a look at the map.

More examples

In a level voice, he ordered the soldiers to aim and fire.
She aimed at the target.
The gun turret revolved until the gun was aimed at the advancing soldiers.
Video footage clearly shows a police officer aiming a pistol at a demonstrator.
She picked up an apple and aimed it at his head.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Aiming and aim

Phrasal verbs

aim at sth

aim sth at sb

(Definition of aim from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

aim | American Dictionary

aim

verb

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/eɪm/

aim verb (POINT)

[ I/T ]

to point or direct a weapon or other object toward someone or something:

[ T ] I turned and saw a big man aiming a camera at me.

[ I/T ]

To aim something is also to direct it toward someone whom you want to influence or toward achieving something:

[ T ] These ads are aimed at young people.

aim verb (INTEND)

[ I ]

to plan for a specific purpose; intend:

The measures aimed at preserving family life.

This book aims at attracting the serious reader.

aim

noun

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/eɪm/

aim noun (INTENTION)

[ C ]

a result that your plans or actions are intended to achieve:

The commission’s aim was to convince workers of their extreme importance in ship production.

aim noun (POINTING)

[ U ]

the act of pointing a weapon toward something:

She raised her bow, took aim, and hit the bull’s-eye.

(Definition of aim from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

aim | Business English

AIM

noun

STOCK MARKET

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abbreviation for Alternative Investment Market: a stock market for small companies that is part of the London Stock Exchange:

Originally an AIM share, SFI now has a full listing on the main stock market.

aim

noun [ C ]

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something that you plan or hope to achieve:

Our aim is customer satisfaction.

with the aim of doing sth Environmentalists designed the project with the aim of increasing awareness of industrial pollution.

See also

goal

objective

aim

verb

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/eɪm/ us

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[ I ]

to plan or hope to achieve something:

aim to do sth A spokesman for the company says they are aiming to increase sales by 25% next year.

aim for sth The former Senator now aims for a political appointment in Washington.

Phrasal verb

aim at

(Definition of aim from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of aim

aim

The positive part aims to show that adoption and practice are sufficient to create the fundamental plans of a legal system.

From Cambridge English Corpus

This indicator aimed to validate teachers' approach to lesson planning while attempting to link teacher thinking and administrator thinking through a shared discourse.

From Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

More examples Fewer examples

It was not our aim to deny that there is experience, nor to deny that experience has a qualitative character.

From Cambridge English Corpus

The aim is to provide insight into the more rigorous formalization that will be provided in the following sections.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Moreover, common expressions are open to multiple philosophical interpretations precisely because common expressions lack the precision aimed for (though not always achieved) by philosophical discourse.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Cassirer reaches this aim by (1) focusing on the question of philosophical inquiry as a basis phenomenon in the sense of a basic philosophical activity.

From Cambridge English Corpus

His research aims at understanding consciousness as a natural biological phenomenon and at fruitful interaction between philosophical and empirical research in the study of consciousness.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Secondary aims were to study the relationship between psychological, endocrine and immune variables and baseline tumour characteristics.

From Cambridge English Corpus

The present study aimed to assess, in a community sample, actions taken to cope with depression at different levels of psychological distress.

From Cambridge English Corpus

The book is aimed at early level, new or returning adult piano students.

From Cambridge English Corpus

The restriction aims at reducing the combinatorial complexity of rule numbers due to the order sensitivity of phrase structure grammar.

From Cambridge English Corpus

In particular, the book is aimed at signal processing practitioners, especially research workers and students working in areas of radar, sonar, telecommunications and biomedical engineering.

From Cambridge English Corpus

They aimed to fragment the township communities and divorce them from the tacksmen, thus removing the basis of the clan military, social and economic structure.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Therefore, teachers have different teaching aims in their practices and form a variety of teaching approaches accordingly.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Party-based systems create career incentives for the legislator to support the overall aims of the parties.

From Cambridge English Corpus

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