direct object
a word or group of words representing the person or thing upon which the action of a verb is performed or toward which it is directed: in English, generally coming after the verb, without a preposition. In He saw it the pronoun it is the direct object of saw.
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Origin of direct object
1Words Nearby direct object
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use direct object in a sentence
In this Institution it is made a direct object of effort to cure defects of character and habits.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy | Catherine Esther BeecherThis, when thus made a direct object of combined effort, often secures results most gratifying and encouraging.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy | Catherine Esther BeecherWe have seen that extension in itself is not the direct object of sensation.
Fundamental Philosophy, Vol. I (of 2) | Jaime Luciano BalmesI was glad to select it for you as the direct object of our visit, although it has formed a small part of our journey.
Zigzag Journeys in Europe | Hezekiah ButterworthBut neither this nor any other purely political result would be the sole and direct object of the change.
The Contemporary Review, January 1883 | Various
British Dictionary definitions for direct object
grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase whose referent receives the direct action of a verb. For example, a book is the direct object in the sentence They bought Anne a book: Compare indirect object
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for direct object
A noun, pronoun, or group of words serving as the receiving end of an action, such as the ball in “Tabitha hit the ball.” A direct object can be a word, phrase, or clause: “Sam chose Rusty to play shortstop”; “I will never understand why he came home.” (Compare indirect object.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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