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goal

noun

Simple meaning

An area into which the players try to put an object.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

gohl
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡoʊl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. sports

    In many sports, an area into which the players attempt to put an object.

  2. A result that one is attempting to achieve.

  3. A point scored in a game as a result of placing the object into the goal.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: In many sports, an area into which the players attempt to put an object.

Used this way, goal is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a sporting use: familiar to anyone who follows the game, and puzzling to anyone who does not.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Sports
  • News/reporting
  • Everyday conversation

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use goal

  • “The winning goal came with less than a minute left to play.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Point / sports

ultimate goal

Noun

primary goal

Affairs

goal attainment

Other combinations

goal settingcommon goalmain goalfinal goalmajor goal

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • goal linenounCompound term

    A line marking each end of the playing field or pitch.

  • goal-kicknounCompound term

    An attempt to kick a goal.

  • field goalnounCompound term

    A score in American football.

  • own goalnounCompound term

    A goal that results when a player inadvertently knocks the ball into the goal he is defending.

  • no-goalnounCompound term

    A nonexistent goal.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • goalienounRelated term

    The soccer or hockey player assigned to protect the goal.

  • goalkeepernounRelated term

    The soccer or hockey player assigned to protect the goal.

  • goaltendernounRelated term

    The soccer or hockey player assigned to protect the goal.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: in many sports

end

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.