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Glite Dictionary
🎯 Target center 🎯 Perfect success
bull's eye

bull's eye

1 3.9
The small central spot on a target that gives the most points
  • noun
  • /bʊlz aɪ/
translation icon : diana
  • The dart landed directly in the bull's eye, earning him the highest score.
  • hit a bull's eye

Examples

  • This graceful yacht with the unpronounceable name sits directly on the bull's eye.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • He said that he could hit three in the bull's-eye.

    Mystic Pizza (1988)

  • Like hitting the bull's eye?

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The archer aimed carefully and hit the bull's eye on the target.

  • During the competition, she was thrilled to score a perfect shot in the bull's eye.

Synonyms

target
vsbull's eye
917 2.0

An object people aim at in shooting or archery

is the small central scoring area within that larger object or mark
mark
vsbull's eye
262 4.9

A point to aim at in shooting or archery

is specifically the tiny central scoring spot rather than a general aim point
bull
vsbull's eye
27 6.8

The center of a target that scores the most points

is the small precise central spot that earns the highest score

How Big

silhouette
  • Specialized
2 6.9
target area
9 3.9
target
917 2.0
mark
262 4.9
bull's eye
1 3.9
pinpoint
9 5.7

Surface Forms

bull's eye singular
bull's eyes plural

Morphology

bull's + eye

The meaning is directly composed from 'bull's' (possessive of bull) + 'eye' (the central point), so a learner who knows the words can infer it denotes the center/target point that one aims for. The extended sense 'a perfect or decisive success' follows straightforwardly from the literal idea of hitting the center, a common and cross-linguistically transparent metaphor, so a B1 learner would likely understand it.

Etymology

The phrase bull's eye comes from target sports like archery and darts. The tiny middle of the target was seen as the bull's eye, and hitting it gave the highest score, so it means 'the small central spot'.