Let’s be real. If you’re searching for what rhymes with target, you’re probably either a songwriter hitting a massive wall, a poet trying to make a corporate greeting card sound less soul-crushing, or a parent helping with some truly specific third-grade homework. It's a tricky word. It’s a trochee—a word with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one—which makes "perfect" rhymes surprisingly scarce in English.
You might think you’re stuck with just "market" or "basket," but the English language is weirdly flexible if you know how to bend the rules. Honestly, most people fail at rhyming because they only look for identical ending sounds. They want that crisp, clean match. But in the real world of phonetics and lyricism, slant rhymes are where the magic actually happens.
The Heavy Hitters: Perfect Rhymes for Target
Strictly speaking, a perfect rhyme requires the stressed vowel sound and everything following it to be identical. For "target" (/ˈtɑːrɡɪt/), we are looking for that "-arget" sound.
There aren't many.
The most obvious one is market. It’s the gold standard. Whether you are talking about a supermarket, a bull market, or a black market, it fits the meter perfectly. If you say, "I missed the target at the market," it sounds natural. It doesn't feel forced.
Then there's argot. This is a bit of a "SAT word," but it refers to the jargon or slang of a particular group. It’s pronounced /ˈɑːrɡoʊ/ in some dialects, but in others, especially when leaning into certain poetic meters, it can lean close enough to work as a feminine rhyme. However, if we are being pedantic, "market" is truly the only common, everyday perfect rhyme you've got in the bag.
Why Slant Rhymes are Actually Better
Slant rhymes—sometimes called half rhymes or near rhymes—are the secret weapon of rappers and professional poets. Think about how many times you've heard a song where the words didn't actually rhyme on paper, but they sounded incredible.
Bargain is a great example. You lose the "t" at the end, but the "ar" and the "g" carry the weight. If you're writing a poem about consumerism, "target" and "bargain" tell a much more interesting story than "target" and "market."
Then you have carpet.
The "p" and the "g" are both stop consonants. They feel similar in the mouth. If you’re speaking quickly or singing, "the target on the carpet" flows. It has that percussive rhythm that keeps a listener engaged.
What about sparget? Okay, that’s not a word you’ll use every day. It’s an archaic term related to moistening or sprinkling, but if you’re writing a historical fantasy novel or some weirdly specific technical manual, it’s there for you.
The "Wait, Does That Count?" List
Sometimes you just need to get close enough. Phonetically, we are playing with the /ɑːr/ sound.
- Garret: A small, tiny attic room. It’s got that "ar" and the "et" ending.
- Jarret: Usually a name, but it fits the cadence.
- Margot: A name again. If you're writing a song about a girl named Margot who is your "target," you've got a hook.
- Parapet: This is a bit of a stretch because the stress is different, but the ending "et" sound creates a nice internal rhyme if you're clever about it.
It's about the "T" sound. Words like habit, rabbit, jacket, or packet don't have the "ar" sound, but they share the "it" or "et" ending. This is called a consonance rhyme. If you lean into the "it" sound at the end of "target," you can pair it with bracket, rocket, or even pocket.
How Context Changes the Rhyme
If you are using target as a verb—as in, "to target someone"—your rhyming needs might shift.
Think about the syllable count. "Target" is two syllables. If you want to keep the flow of your sentence or stanza, you usually want another two-syllable word.
Forget. Regret.
Reset.
These don't have the "ar" sound, but they have the "et." In a song lyric, "I'll target the man I can't forget" works perfectly because the listener's ear catches the "t" sounds and the "et" ending. It creates a cohesive feeling without being a "nursery rhyme" style match.
Breaking the Word Down
Sometimes the best way to rhyme with a difficult word is to break it. This is a common trick in hip-hop. You rhyme with the first syllable and then move on.
Rhyme with Tar:
- Star
- Car
- Bar
- Far
- Jar
Then, you just let the "get" part of the word hang there or use it to lead into the next line. Eminem is the master of this. He doesn't look for a word that rhymes with "target"; he looks for a phrase that hits the same vowels.
Example: "Large set."
"I hit the target with a large set of tools."
See? "Target" (/ɑːr-ɛt/) and "Large set" (/ɑːr-ɛt/). It’s a multi-syllabic rhyme. It sounds way more sophisticated than just using "market" for the tenth time.
The Weird World of Identity Rhymes
An identity rhyme is just using the same word twice, or a compound word that contains the original word. It’s technically a rhyme, though some call it "lazy."
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- On-target
- Off-target
- Untarget (not really a word, but hey, artistic license)
If you’re writing a jingle for a brand, sometimes staying "on-target" is exactly the point. Don't overthink it if the simple solution works for the message.
Avoiding the Rhyming Dictionary Trap
Most people open a rhyming dictionary, see "market" and "argot," and give up. They think the English language has failed them.
The reality is that English is a Germanic language with a massive influx of French and Latin. This makes our vowel sounds messy. "Target" comes from the Old French targette, which is a diminutive of targe (a shield). Because it’s a borrowed word that’s been chewed up by English speakers for centuries, its rhyming profile is unique.
Don't just look for words that end in "-arget." Look for words that feel like "target."
Scarlet. Starlet. Harlot. These are incredibly strong slant rhymes. They share the "ar" and the "let/et" ending. "The starlet was the target" is a line that writes itself. It’s punchy. It’s evocative. It’s much better than anything you'll find in a basic rhyming app.
Actionable Steps for Better Rhyming
If you’re still staring at a blank page, try these three things:
- Vowel Mapping: Write down the vowel sounds. For target, it’s AH and EH. Now, find other words with those two vowels in that order. (e.g., Hardest, Largest, Smartest). These are "near-perfect" matches in a lyrical context.
- The "T" Drop: Say "target" without the "T" at the end. Now you're looking for rhymes for "targe." Charge, large, barge, marge. You can use these as internal rhymes to build momentum before you hit the final word.
- Phrase Rhyming: Don't look for one word. Look for two. "Far yet" rhymes with target. "Car debt" rhymes with target. "Bar bet" rhymes with target.
Using phrases instead of single words will immediately make your writing sound more "human" and less like it was generated by a computer program from 1998.
The next time you're stuck, remember that "market" is just the beginning. Look at the "ar," feel the "g," and don't be afraid to use words like carpet, scarlet, or even a well-placed garret.
Start by choosing the "vibe" of your rhyme. If you want something serious, go with regret (slant) or market. If you want something descriptive, go with scarlet. If you’re just trying to finish a poem for a friend, carpet usually does the trick.
Get those vowels down on paper and stop worrying about being "perfect." The best writing rarely is.
Practical Rhyme Reference Table (Prose Version)
Instead of a boring list, think of your options in categories. For Perfect Rhymes, you basically have market and its variations like supermarket or telemarket. For Near Rhymes that focus on the "-ar" sound, look at carpet, scarlet, starlet, and garret. If you care more about the Ending Consonance (the "it/et" sound), you can use bracket, jacket, packet, rocket, or socket. For Lyrical Slant Rhymes (best for music), try phrases like hardest, largest, smartest, or sharpest. These last few are particularly good because they maintain the two-syllable "trochaic" meter that makes the word target so distinct.
Choose your rhyme based on the "hardness" of the sound you want. A "k" sound (market) is harder and more final. A "p" sound (carpet) is softer. An "s" sound (largest) is smoother and allows for a longer breath in a song.
Now, go use starlet or carpet and get that project finished.