goal S2 W1 AC /ɡəʊl $ ɡoʊl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: gol 'limit, boundary' (1300-1400) ]
1 . something that you hope to achieve in the future SYN aim :
Your goal as a parent is to help your child become an independent adult.
REGISTER
In everyday British English, people often talk about what someone is aiming to do rather than talk about someone’s goal :
▪ His goal is to set up his own business. ➔ He’s aiming to set up his own business.
2 . the area between two posts where the ball must go in order to score in games such as football or ↑ hockey
be in goal/keep goal British English (=be the goalkeeper)
3 . the action of making the ball go into a goal, or the score gained by doing this:
I scored the first goal.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ adjectives
▪ sb’s main/primary goal
My main goal was to get the team to the finals.
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The primary goal of the 1917 Revolution was to seize and redistribute the wealth of the Russian empire.
▪ sb’s ultimate goal (=what they eventually and most importantly hope to achieve)
The ultimate goal is a freer, more democratic society.
▪ an immediate goal (=that you need to achieve very soon)
Our immediate goal is to cut costs.
▪ a long-term goal (=that you hope to achieve after a long time)
The organization’s long-term goal is to gain a strong position in the European market.
▪ a short-term goal (=that you hope to achieve after a short time)
Companies should not focus only on the short-term goal of profitability.
▪ sb’s personal goal
They had to sacrifice personal goals for their family life.
▪ a common goal (=an aim shared by more than one person or organization)
Iran and Turkey shared common goals in their handling of the refugee crisis.
▪ a realistic/achievable goal
Students are encouraged to set themselves realistic goals for academic improvement.
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We pushed for what we thought were achievable goals
▪ an ambitious goal (=an aim that will be difficult to achieve)
The agreement set ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
▪ a modest goal (=an aim that is not too difficult to achieve)
Don’t try to lose a lot of weight quickly; set yourself a more modest goal.
■ verbs
▪ have a goal
She had one goal in life: to accumulate a huge fortune.
▪ work towards a goal
We are all working towards similar goals.
▪ pursue a goal
Have we gone too far in pursuing the goal of national security?
▪ achieve/attain/reach your goal
She has worked hard to achieve her goal of a job in the medical profession.
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They’re hoping to reach their goal of raising £10,000 for charity.
▪ set (yourself/somebody) a goal (=decide what you or someone else should try to achieve)
It helps if you set yourself clear goals.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ verbs
▪ score a goal
Robbie Keane scored a goal just before halftime.
▪ get a goal
It was great that he got that goal so late in the game.
▪ head a goal (=score a goal by hitting the ball with your head)
Peter Crouch headed England’s equalizing goal.
▪ make a goal (=help another player to score a goal)
Rooney made the goal with a superb pass to Saha.
▪ concede a goal (=let the other team score a goal)
Arsenal conceded a goal in the final minute of extra time.
▪ let in a goal (=let the other team score a goal)
Chelsea let in a goal in the 63rd minute.
▪ disallow a goal (=not allow a goal to be counted because a rule has been broken)
The goal was disallowed for offside.
■ adjectives
▪ the winning goal
Berbatov scored the winning goal from just outside the box.
▪ an own goal (=when a player accidentally puts the ball into his/her own net)
Dixon scored an unfortunate own goal against West Ham.
▪ a last-minute goal
A last-minute goal condemned Fulham to a 0–1 home defeat.
▪ an equalizing goal British English (=a goal that gives you the same number of points as your opponent)
A loud cheer went up as he scored the equalizing goal.