aim

English Online Dictionary. What means aim‎? What does aim mean?

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɪm/
• Rhymes: -eɪm

Etymology 1

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.

Noun

aim (plural aims)

1. 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.

2. The point intended to be hit, or object intended to be attained or affected.
3. Intention or goal

   Synonyms: purpose, design, scheme
4. The ability of someone to aim straight; one's faculty for being able to hit a physical target

5. (obsolete) Conjecture; guess.

Synonyms

• (intention): aspiration, design, end, ettle, intention, mint, object, purpose, scheme, scope, tendency; See also Thesaurus:goal or Thesaurus:intention

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

aim (third-person singular simple present aims, present participle aiming, simple past and past participle aimed)

1. (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

2. (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
3. (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

4. (transitive) To direct (something verbal) towards a certain person, thing, or group

5. (intransitive, obsolete) To guess or conjecture.

Usage notes

• Sense 2. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

aim

1. Initialism of America Online. AIM; AOL Instant Messenger.

Further reading

• “aim”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “aim”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• AMI, I am, I'm a, I'm a', I'm'a, I'm-a, I'ma, IAM, Ima, Ima', MAI, MIA, Mai, Mia, i'm'a, i'ma, ima, mai, mia

Blackfoot

Final

aim

1. control, influence; see ohkottaimm

References

• Donald G. Frantz, Norma J. Russel (1989) Blackfoot Dictionary of Stems, Roots, and Affixes, 3rd edition, University of Toronto Press, published 2017

Estonian

Etymology

Of Finnic origin. Cognate to Finnish aimottaa.

Noun

aim (genitive aimu, partitive aimu)

1. sense, idea of something, feeling

Declension

Mandarin

Romanization

aim

1. Nonstandard spelling of áim.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Scots

Etymology

Derived from Old Norse eimr (“vapour, steam”).

Pronunciation

• (Caithness) IPA^(key): /ei̯m/

Noun

aim (plural aims)

1. (Caithness) A hot glow, a blast of hot air

References

• “aim, n.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.im/

Noun

aim

1. name

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[2], Pacific linguistics (as aym)

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English ayme, from Old French aesme, esme.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːm/

Noun

aim

1. intent

Related terms

• ameing

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 84