indirect object

American  

noun

1. a word or group of words representing the person or thing with reference to which the action of a verb is performed, in English generally coming between the verb and the direct object and paraphrasable as the object of a preposition, usually to or for, following the direct object, as the boy in He gave the boy a book.

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indirect object British  

noun

1. grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase indicating the recipient or beneficiary of the action of a verb and its direct object, as John in the sentence I bought John a newspaper Compare direct object

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indirect object Cultural  

1. A noun, pronoun, or group of words naming something indirectly affected by the action of a verb: “She showed me some carpet samples”; “The agent handed the Prentice family their tickets.”

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Discover More

Indirect objects can often take or suggest the preposition to. For example, “He showed (to) me the book.”

Etymology

Origin of indirect object

First recorded in 1875–80

Compare meaning

How does indirect-object compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• direct object vs. indirect object

Example Sentences

Its word order goes: subject, verb, direct object, indirect object.

From Time Magazine Archive

These article pronouns point out with great particularity the person, number, and gender, both of subject and object, and sometimes of the indirect object.

From On the Evolution of Language First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879-80, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1881, pages 1-16 by Powell, John Wesley

An important though indirect object was the maintenance of water-level in the dozen or more rivers which take their rise in the high-lying plateau forming the heart of the Park.

From Supplement to Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador Supplement to an Address Presented by Lt.-Colonel William Wood, F.R.S.C. Before the Second Annual Meeting of the Commission of Conservation in January, 1911 by Wood, William Charles Henry

The "indirect object" names the one to or for whom something is done.

From Graded Lessons in English An Elementary English Grammar Consisting of One Hundred Practical Lessons, Carefully Graded and Adapted to the Class-Room by Reed, Alonzo

The direct, not the indirect object of the wish, is what he wants.

From The Religious Sentiment Its Source and Aim: A Contribution to the Science and Philosophy of Religion by Brinton, Daniel Garrison