goal Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it
    end.
    • the ends justify the means
  2. noun the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)
    destination; finish.
    • a crowd assembled at the finish
    • he was nearly exhausted as their destination came into view
  3. noun game equipment consisting of the place toward which players of a game try to advance a ball or puck in order to score points
  4. noun a successful attempt at scoring
    • the winning goal came with less than a minute left to play

WordNet

Goal noun
Etymology
F. gaule pole, Prov. F. waule, of German origin; cf. Fries. walu staff, stick, rod, Goth. walus, Icel. völr a round stick; prob. akin to E. wale.
Definitions
  1. The mark set to bound a race, and to or around which the constestants run, or from which they start to return to it again; the place at which a race or a journey is to end.
    Part curb their fiery steeds, or shun the goal With rapid wheels. Milton.
  2. The final purpose or aim; the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or attain.
    Each individual seeks a several goal. Pope.
  3. A base, station, or bound used in various games; in football, a line between two posts across which the ball must pass in order to score; also, the act of kicking the ball over the line between the goal posts.

Webster 1913