direct vs target

direct

verb
  • To aim (something) at (something else). 

  • To manage, control, steer. 

  • To point out to or show (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way. 

  • To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order. 

adj
  • having a single flight number. 

  • Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end. 

  • Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates. 

  • Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous. 

  • Proceeding without deviation or interruption. 

  • Straightforward; sincere. 

  • In the line of descent; not collateral. 

  • In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; said of the motion of a celestial body. 

adv
  • Directly. 

target

verb
  • To aim something, especially a weapon, at (a target). 

  • To aim for as an audience or demographic. 

  • To produce code suitable for. 

noun
  • A conspicuous disk attached to a switch lever to show its position, or for use as a signal. 

  • A bearing representing a buckler. 

  • The translated version of a document, or the language into which translation occurs. 

  • A person (or group of people) that a person or organization is trying to employ or to have as a customer, audience etc. 

  • A kind of small shield or buckler, used as a defensive weapon in war. 

  • The pattern or arrangement of a series of hits made by a marksman on a butt or mark. 

  • A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile. 

  • the number of runs that the side batting last needs to score in the final innings in order to win 

  • An object of criticism or ridicule. 

  • A goal or objective. 

  • The tenor of a metaphor. 

  • A person, place, or thing that is frequently attacked, criticized, or ridiculed. 

  • The sliding crosspiece, or vane, on a leveling staff. 

How often have the words direct and target occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )