Aimed

to position or direct (a firearm, ball, arrow, rocket, etc.) so that, on firing or release, the discharged projectile will hit a target or travel along a certain path.
to intend or direct for a particular effect or purpose:
to aim a satire at sn-bbery.
to point or direct a gun, punch, etc., toward:
he aimed at the target but missed it.
to strive; try (usually followed by to or at):
we aim to please. they aim at saving something every month.
to intend:
she aims to go tomorrow.
to direct efforts, as toward an object:
the satire aimed at modern greed.
obsolete. to estimate; guess.
the act of aiming or directing anything at or toward a particular point or target.
the direction in which a weapon or missile is pointed; the line of sighting:
within the cannon’s aim.
the point intended to be hit; thing or person aimed at:
to miss one’s aim.
something intended or desired to be attained by one’s efforts; purpose:
whatever his aim in life may be.
obsolete. conjecture; guess.
take aim, to sight a target:
to take aim and fire.
contemporary examples

he, too, aimed to put nuclear weapons at the top of the global agenda.
drop the bomb, obama james carroll september 22, 2009

all is aimed at inculcating young minds with the isis ideology.
darkness at noon prayers: inside the islamic police state jamie dettmer november 4, 2014

that rejection was aimed both at the international body and at u.s. leadership.
saudi fears and mysteries leslie h. gelb october 23, 2013

c. depends on whether missiles are aimed at russia or china.
up to a point: p.j. o’rourke on sotu, the super bowl and nukes p. j. o’rourke january 30, 2014

but in each of these cases, the moves were defensive and wimpy, aimed at preserving eroding positions and not getting hurt.
wall street plays defense daniel gross september 2, 2013

historical examples

it is not conversion of evil men that must be aimed at, but their control.
criminal types v. m. masten

he thinks that every bullet is going to hit him, and that every shot is aimed at him.
the story of the malakand field force sir winston s. churchill

he aimed the kn-b at some rocks a few yards away and pressed the b-tton.
restricted tool malcolm b. morehart

but she did not speak to eleanore now, her talk like joe’s was aimed at me.
the harbor ernest poole

his brother, meanwhile, continued firing from the tower, and not a ball was aimed in vain.
hungarian sketches in peace and war mr jkai

verb
to point (a weapon, missile, etc) or direct (a blow) at a particular person or object; level
(transitive) to direct (satire, criticism, etc) at a person, object, etc
(intransitive; foll by at or an infinitive) to propose or intend: we aim to leave early
(intransitive; often foll by at or for) to direct one’s efforts or strive (towards): to aim at better communications, to aim high
noun
the action of directing something at an object
the direction in which something is pointed; line of sighting (esp in the phrase to take aim)
the object at which something is aimed; target
intention; purpose
abbreviation
(in britain) alternative investment market
v.

early 14c., “to estimate, calculate,” also “to intend,” from old french aesmer “value, rate; count, estimate,” from latin aestimare “appraise” (see estimation); current meaning apparently developed from “esteem,” to “calculate,” to “calculate with a view to action” (c.1400), then to “direct a missile, a blow, etc.” (1570s). related: aimed; aiming.
n.

early 14c., “target;” late 14c., “guess;” from aim (v.). meaning “action of aiming” is from early 15c. (to take aim, originally make aim); that of “thing intended, purpose” is from 1620s.
american indian movement
in addition to the idiom beginning with aim also see: take aim