“aiming” is a form of
aim
/eɪm/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms aims aiming aimed
- noun The pointing of a weapon, as a gun, a dart, or an arrow, or object, in the line of direction with the object intended to be struck; the line of fire; the direction of anything, such as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it. “to take aim”
- noun The level of accuracy of a weapon. “A rifle has more precise aim than a shotgun.”
- noun The point intended to be hit, or object intended to be attained or affected.
- noun Intention or goal. “My number one aim in life is to make money to make my parents, siblings, and kids happy.”
- noun The ability of someone to aim straight; one’s faculty for being able to hit a physical target. “The police officer has excellent aim, always hitting the bullseye in shooting practice.”
- noun (obsolete) Conjecture; guess.
- verb (intransitive) To point or direct a missile, or a weapon which propels as missile, towards an object or spot with the intent of hitting it “He aimed at the target, but the arrow flew straight over it.”
- verb (intransitive) To direct the intention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor;—followed by at, or by an infinitive “to aim at a pass”
- verb (transitive) To direct or point (e.g. a weapon), at a particular object; to direct, as a missile, an act, or a proceeding, at, to, or against an object “to aim an arrow at the deer”
- verb (transitive) To direct (something verbal) towards a certain person, thing, or group “to aim a satirical comment at Communists in general”
- verb (intransitive, obsolete) To guess or conjecture.
- proper noun (UK, finance) AIM, the secondary stock market of the London Stock Exchange; formerly an initialism of Alternative Investment Market.
- verb (ambitransitive, Internet, historical, informal) To talk to (someone) via the instant messaging service AIM (AOL Instant Messenger; 1997–2017); to send (someone) a message via this service.
Synonyms
purpose design scheme aspiration end ettle intention mint object scope tendency point intent objective target bearing heading take train take aim direct purport propose drive get calculate place draw a bead on aspire shoot for
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English amen, aimen, eimen (“to guess at, to estimate, to aim”), borrowed from Old French esmer, aesmer, asmer, from Latin ad- plus aestimare (“to estimate”), the compound perhaps being originally formed in Medieval Latin (adaestimare), perhaps in Old French.
The noun is from Middle English ame, from Old French aesme, esme.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To point or direct a missile weapon, or a weapon which propels as missile, towards an object or spot with the intent of hitting it; as, to aim at a fox, or at a target.
- verb To direct the indention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor; --followed by at, or by an infinitive; as, to aim at distinction; to aim to do well.
- verb To direct or point, as a weapon, at a particular object; to direct, as a missile, an act, or a proceeding, at, to, or against an object; as, to aim a musket or an arrow, the fist or a blow (at something); to aim a satire or a reflection (at some person or vice).
- noun The pointing of a weapon, as a gun, a dart, or an arrow, in the line of direction with the object intended to be struck; the line of fire; the direction of anything, as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it. Each at the head leveled his deadly aim. Milton.
Etymology [OE. amen, aimen, eimen, to guess at, to estimate, to aim, OF. esmer, asmer, fr. L. aestimare to estimate; or perh. fr. OF. aesmer; ad) + esmer. See Estimate.]
Etymology [Cf. OF. esme estimation, fr. esmer. See Aim, v. i.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “aim”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details