Goal

[gohl] /goʊl/

noun
1.
the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.
2.
the terminal point in a race.
3.
a pole, line, or other marker by which such a point is indicated.
4.
an area, basket, cage, or other object or structure toward or into which players of various games attempt to throw, carry, kick, hit, or drive a ball, puck, etc., to score a point or points.
5.
the act of throwing, carrying, kicking, driving, etc., a ball or puck into such an area or object.
6.
the score made by this act.
/ɡəʊl/
noun
1.
the aim or object towards which an endeavour is directed
2.
the terminal point of a journey or race
3.
(in various sports) the net, basket, etc into or over which players try to propel the ball, puck, etc, to score
4.
(sport)

5.
(in soccer, hockey, etc) the position of goalkeeper
n.

1530s, “end point of a race,” of uncertain origin. The noun gol appears once before this, in a poem from early 14c. and with an apparent sense of “boundary, limit.” Perhaps from Old English *gal “obstacle, barrier,” a word implied by gælan “to hinder.” Or from Old French gaule “a pole,” from Germanic; or a figurative use of Middle English gale “a way, course.” Sports sense of “place where the ball is put to score” is attested from 1540s. Figurative sense of “object of an effort” is from 1540s.

Related Terms

knock someone for a loop

programming
In logic programming, a predicate applied to its arguments which the system attempts to prove by matching it against the clauses of the program. A goal may fail or it may succeed in one or more ways.
(1997-07-14)