goalgoal /goʊl/ ●●● AWL noun [countable] 
1something that you hope to achieve in the future: 
My ultimate/long-term goal is to become a doctor. He will do anything it takes to achieve/meet/reach his goal.THESAURUSaim – something that you want to achieve when you do something: His aim was to grow enough food to feed his family.objective – something that you are working hard to achieve, especially in business or politics: The major objectives have been achieved.target – the number or amount that you want to achieve: The charity has set itself the target of raising over $1 million for cancer research.mission – the things that a person or organization wants to achieve, which is the main purpose for all their activities: The company says its mission is to organize the world’s information and make it available to everyone.2in a game or sport, the result of making the ball go into a particular area to win a point, or the point won by doing this: He hasn’t scored a goal in over four games.3the area into which a player tries to put the ball in order to win a point [Origin: 1500–1600 gol “limit,” “boundary” (1300–1400)]COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa major/important goal The report suggested some major goals for improving the health of Americans.somebody’s main/primary goal The teacher’s main goal is to prepare students for the test.somebody’s ultimate goal (=the goal someone eventually hopes to achieve) My ultimate goal is to open my own restaurant.somebody’s stated goal (=the goal someone says he or she wants to achieve) They did not achieve their stated goal of raising $100 million.a long-term goal (=one you hope to achieve after a long time) My long-term goal was to become the principal of a school.a lofty goal (=a good and important goal) The company’s lofty goal is to provide money for thousands of small businesses in Africa.a modest goal (=one that is not too difficult) She set herself the modest goal of learning three new words every night.a common goal (=shared by more than one person or organization) The two countries share common goals.a short-term goal (=that you hope to achieve after a short time) Companies should not focus only on the short-term goal of profit.a realistic/achievable goal Students are encouraged to set themselves realistic goals for academic improvement.an ambitious goal (=that will be difficult to achieve) The agreement set ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.verbsto have a goal Do you have clear career goals?to set a goal (=to decide what you or someone else should try to achieve) I set a goal of losing 20 pounds before summer.to achieve/meet/reach your goal They’re hoping to reach their goal of raising $10,000 for the charity.to work toward a goal also to pursue a goal formal If she wants to pursue her goal of a degree in engineering, her grades need to improve.
1something that you hope to achieve in the future: My ultimate/long-term goal is to become a doctor. He will do anything it takes to achieve/meet/reach his goal.THESAURUSaim – something that you want to achieve when you do something: His aim was to grow enough food to feed his family.objective – something that you are working hard to achieve, especially in business or politics: The major objectives have been achieved.target – the number or amount that you want to achieve: The charity has set itself the target of raising over $1 million for cancer research.mission – the things that a person or organization wants to achieve, which is the main purpose for all their activities: The company says its mission is to organize the world’s information and make it available to everyone.2in a game or sport, the result of making the ball go into a particular area to win a point, or the point won by doing this: He hasn’t scored a goal in over four games.3the area into which a player tries to put the ball in order to win a point [Origin: 1500–1600 gol “limit,” “boundary” (1300–1400)]COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa major/important goal The report suggested some major goals for improving the health of Americans.somebody’s main/primary goal The teacher’s main goal is to prepare students for the test.somebody’s ultimate goal (=the goal someone eventually hopes to achieve) My ultimate goal is to open my own restaurant.somebody’s stated goal (=the goal someone says he or she wants to achieve) They did not achieve their stated goal of raising $100 million.a long-term goal (=one you hope to achieve after a long time) My long-term goal was to become the principal of a school.a lofty goal (=a good and important goal) The company’s lofty goal is to provide money for thousands of small businesses in Africa.a modest goal (=one that is not too difficult) She set herself the modest goal of learning three new words every night.a common goal (=shared by more than one person or organization) The two countries share common goals.a short-term goal (=that you hope to achieve after a short time) Companies should not focus only on the short-term goal of profit.a realistic/achievable goal Students are encouraged to set themselves realistic goals for academic improvement.an ambitious goal (=that will be difficult to achieve) The agreement set ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.verbsto have a goal Do you have clear career goals?to set a goal (=to decide what you or someone else should try to achieve) I set a goal of losing 20 pounds before summer.to achieve/meet/reach your goal They’re hoping to reach their goal of raising $10,000 for the charity.to work toward a goal also to pursue a goal formal If she wants to pursue her goal of a degree in engineering, her grades need to improve.
