English Lexicon

Goal

/ɡoʊl/
nounCEFR A2 (Elementary)Top #350 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The object of a person's ambition or effort; an aimed result or desired achievement.

    "Her primary career goal is to become the head of the department within five years."
  2. 2

    In sports, an instance of sending the ball or puck into a designated area, such as between goalposts or into a net, to score points.

    "He scored the winning goal in the final minute of the soccer match."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from Middle English 'gol', meaning boundary, limit, or the barrier across which a race was run. Its evolution shifted in the late 16th century to designate the scoring target in sports, and eventually broadened metaphorically in the 20th century to represent any desired objective or ambition.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Goal"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Goal"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Goal" Synonym Map