anything that is visible or tangible and is relatively stable in form.
a thing, person, or matter to which thought or action is directed.
an object of medical investigation.
the end toward which effort or action is directed; goal; purpose.
Profit is the object of business.
a person or thing with reference to the impression made on the mind or the feeling or emotion elicited in an observer.
an object of curiosity and pity.
anything that may be apprehended intellectually.
objects of thought.
Optics. the thing of which a lens or mirror forms an image.
Grammar. (in many languages, such as English) a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that represents either the goal of the action of a verb or the goal of a preposition in a prepositional phrase: for example, ball in John hit the ball, or Venice in He came to Venice, or coin and her in He gave her a coin.
Digital Technology.
any item that can be individually selected or manipulated, as a picture, data file, or piece of text.
in object-oriented programming, a self-contained entity that consists of both data and operations to manipulate the data.
Metaphysics. something toward which a cognitive act is directed.
to offer a reason or argument in opposition.
to express or feel disapproval, dislike, or distaste; be averse.
to refuse or attempt to refuse to permit some action, speech, etc.
to state, claim, or cite in opposition; put forward in objection, disagreement, or disapproval.
Some people objected that the proposed import duty would harm world trade.
Archaic. to bring forward or cite in opposition.
objection.
objective.
a tangible and visible thing
a person or thing seen as a focus or target for feelings, thought, etc
an object of affection
an aim, purpose, or objective
informal a ridiculous or pitiable person, spectacle, etc
philosophy that towards which cognition is directed, as contrasted with the thinking subject; anything regarded as external to the mind, esp in the external world
grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase whose referent is the recipient of the action of a verb See also direct object indirect object
grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that is governed by a preposition
not a hindrance or obstacle
money is no object
computing a self-contained identifiable component of a software system or design
object-oriented programming
(tr; takes a clause as object) to state as an objection
he objected that his motives had been good
to raise or state an objection (to); present an argument (against)
See aim.
First recorded in 1325–75; (noun) Middle English: “something perceived, purpose, objection,” from Medieval Latin objectum “something thrown down or presented (to the mind),” noun use of neuter of Latin objectus “thrown toward,” past participle of obicere, objicere “to throw toward” ( see ob- ( def. ), jet 1 ( def. )); verb from Middle French obje(c)ter, from Latin objectāre “to throw or put before, oppose,” frequentative of obicere, objicere, as above
When your younger brother runs around the house with scissors, you should definitely object. Perhaps a less sharp object such as a roll of paper towels would suffice. An object (OB-ject) is something that is a visible entity, something that can be perceived by the senses. If you are unsure whether something is an object, test it by seeing whether it can cast a shadow; if it can, it's an object, if it can't, it's not. In court, lawyers will often say, "I object!" Here, the verb object (ob-JECT) means to express disagreement.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The painter might have put his sitter’s hand around some other silver object, like a coffee pot, a tray or a tankard.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
"But Nandini's sari is the first object I have collected from India for our interplanetary science collection and it's our very first sari," Shindell says.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
He is gazing neither directly at us nor at the object he is holding.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
This capability enabled the team not only to identify gases surrounding the comet's nucleus, but also to map how those gases were distributed around the object.
From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2026
It was at that moment that I suddenly realized how easy it would be to pick up and take away almost any object of moderate size.…
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
