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direct object
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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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QUIZ
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Origin of direct object
First recorded in 1900–05
Words nearby direct object
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use direct object in a sentence
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
Cultural 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.