GOAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does goal mean? 

• GOAL (noun)
  The noun GOAL has 4 senses:

1. the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it

2. the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)

3. game equipment consisting of the place toward which players of a game try to advance a ball or puck in order to score points

4. a successful attempt at scoring

  Familiarity information: GOAL used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

end; goal

Context example:

the ends justify the means

Hypernyms ("goal" is a kind of...):

cognitive content; content; mental object (the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "goal"):

aim; object; objective; target (the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable))

bourn; bourne (an archaic term for a goal or destination)

end-all (the ultimate goal)

destination; terminus (the ultimate goal for which something is done)

no-goal (a nonexistent goal)

aim; design; intent; intention; purpose (an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions)

intention ((usually plural) the goal with respect to a marriage proposal)

Holonyms ("goal" is a part of...):

plan of action (a plan for actively doing something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

destination; finish; goal

Context example:

he was nearly exhausted as their destination came into view

Hypernyms ("goal" is a kind of...):

end; terminal (either extremity of something that has length)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "goal"):

finish line; finishing line (a line indicating the location of the finish of a race)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Game equipment consisting of the place toward which players of a game try to advance a ball or puck in order to score points

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("goal" is a kind of...):

game equipment (equipment or apparatus used in playing a game)

Meronyms (parts of "goal"):

bar (an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal)

goalpost (one of a pair of posts (usually joined by a crossbar) that are set up as a goal at each end of a playing field)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "goal"):

basket; basketball hoop; hoop (horizontal circular metal hoop supporting a net through which players try to throw the basketball)

net (a goal lined with netting (as in soccer or hockey))

Sense 4

Meaning:

A successful attempt at scoring

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the winning goal came with less than a minute left to play

Hypernyms ("goal" is a kind of...):

score (the act of scoring in a game or sport)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "goal"):

own goal ((soccer) a goal that results when a player inadvertently knocks the ball into the goal he is defending)

 Context examples 

A key goal of the Cancer Research Network project is identifying the patient, treatment and delivery system factors that may make a difference in health outcomes for cancer.

(Cancer Research Network, NCI Thesaurus)

The goal is to help you return to an active life, and to reduce the risk of further heart problems.

(Cardiac Rehabilitation, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Your course of therapy will depend on the cancer type, the chemotherapy drugs used, the treatment goal and how your body responds.

(Cancer Chemotherapy, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

To receive the award, one goal of the cancer center must be to turn clinical and basic research into better health care.

(Cancer Center Support Grant, NCI Dictionary)

You and your partner may be drawing up a new goal or marking a new chapter in your lives.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The goal of the project is to offer quicker access to low Earth orbit, decreasing the preparation time to launch from months to days.

(Hypersonic Space Plane May Soon Be a Reality, VOA)

The goal is to correct alignment problems, ease pain, and support the body's natural ability to heal itself.

(Chiropractic, NIH: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

Instead of recreating sounds based on individual letters or words, the goal of this project was to synthesize the specific sounds used in natural speech.

(Scientists translate brain signals into speech sounds, National Institutes of Health)

"Follow the Water" has been one of the major goals of NASA's Mars program.

(Possible Subsurface Lake near Martian South Pole, NASA)

A cooperative group sponsored by the NCI whose primary goal is to evaluate surgical therapies in the management of patients with malignant solid tumors.

(American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, NCI Thesaurus)