indirect object

American  

noun

1. a word or group of words representing the person or thing with reference to which the action of a verb is performed, in English generally coming between the verb and the direct object and paraphrasable as the object of a preposition, usually to or for, following the direct object, as the boy in He gave the boy a book.

---

indirect object British  

noun

1. grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase indicating the recipient or beneficiary of the action of a verb and its direct object, as John in the sentence I bought John a newspaper Compare direct object

---

indirect object Cultural  

1. A noun, pronoun, or group of words naming something indirectly affected by the action of a verb: “She showed me some carpet samples”; “The agent handed the Prentice family their tickets.”

---

Discover More

Indirect objects can often take or suggest the preposition to. For example, “He showed (to) me the book.”

Etymology

Origin of indirect object

First recorded in 1875–80

Compare meaning

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

• direct object vs. indirect object

Example Sentences

Four different cases in Old English tell you whether a word is a subject, direct object, indirect object or possessor.

From Economist

But bit by bit the language is taking shape, definite articles and nouns and indirect objects and verbs and prepositional phrases hanging off subjects and predicates and predicate complements like a Calder mobile.

From The New Yorker

“Me,” “him,” “her,” “us,” and “them” are in the objective case, and are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of a preposition.

From The New Yorker

To these forms it joined the signs of the direct and indirect object, which is the essential characteristic of incorporating idioms.

From Project Gutenberg

I couldn’t think of the name of that Dative, so I just put Indirect Object, because you said that in a way all Datives were indirect objects.

From Project Gutenberg