direct object

American  

noun

1. 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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direct object British  

noun

1. 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

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direct object Cultural  

1. 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.)

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Etymology

Origin of direct object

First recorded in 1900–05

Compare meaning

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

• direct object vs. indirect object

Example Sentences

According to Solomon, "at one point in his email, he bold-faced a single sentence for emphasis: 'Cybersecurity was never the direct object of any of our communications,'" in reference to Papadopoulos.

From Salon

The word applied both to females in the singular and to any group in the plural when a direct object was needed in a sentence.

From Washington Post

The instructor on the big-screen monitor, broadcasting from John A. Logan Community College, 35 miles away, nods and begins her Spanish 102 lesson, diagramming sentences with action verbs and direct object pronouns.

From Washington Times

The syntax forces us to consider “me” also as the direct object: the “little dog” feels like a self-portrait.

From The New Yorker

“The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States,” it says.

From Reuters