BULL'S EYE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bull's eye mean? 

• BULL'S EYE (noun)
  The noun BULL'S EYE has 3 senses:

1. in target shooting: a score made by hitting the center of the target

2. the center of a target

3. something that exactly succeeds in achieving its goal

  Familiarity information: BULL'S EYE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BULL'S EYE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

In target shooting: a score made by hitting the center of the target

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

in repeated sets of five shots his numbers of bull's-eyes varied

Hypernyms ("bull's eye" is a kind of...):

score (the act of scoring in a game or sport)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The center of a target

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

bull; bull's eye

Hypernyms ("bull's eye" is a kind of...):

center; centre; midpoint (a point equidistant from the ends of a line or the extremities of a figure)

Holonyms ("bull's eye" is a part of...):

mark; target (a reference point to shoot at)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Something that exactly succeeds in achieving its goal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

bell ringer; bull's eye; home run; mark

Context example:

the president's speech was a home run

Hypernyms ("bull's eye" is a kind of...):

success (an attainment that is successful)

Domain usage:

figure; figure of speech; image; trope (language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense)

 Context examples 

The first symptom is usually a rash, which may look like a bull's eye.

(Lyme Disease, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)