Objective: the specific thing that you are trying to achieve - used especially about things that have been officially discussed andĪgreed upon in business, politics, etc. The company is on track to meet its target of increasing profits by 10%. Target: the exact result that a person or organization intends to achieve by doing something, often the amount of money they want to get a particular amount or total that you want to achieve: The country can still achieve its goal of reducing poverty by a third. Goal: something important that you hope to achieve in the future, even though it may take a long time: The main aim of the plan was to provide employment for local people. Purpose: what you want to achieve when you do something the reason you do or plan something, and the thing you want to achieveĪim: something you hope to achieve by doing something:
However I think the explanation from Longman Activator Thesaurus is quite helpful:
These words are pretty similar and have only subtle differences and in spoken language many people might not be careful enough to use each of the words correctly.