definitions

direct object

noun

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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Nearby words

direct mail, direct marketing, direct memory access, direct method, direct nuclear division, direct object, direct ophthalmoscope, direct oxidase, direct percussion, direct positive, direct primary

Origin of direct object

First recorded in 1900–05
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for direct object

direct object

noun

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 bookCompare 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

Culture definitions for direct object

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.