indirect object

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noun

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.

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Origin of indirect object

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby indirect object

indirection, indirect labor, indirect labour, indirect lighting, indirectly, indirect object, indirect primary, indirect proof, indirect question, indirect speech, indirect tax

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use indirect object in a sentence

But by far the most interesting object, which held enormous fascination for me, sat high up on the top shelf.
My Love Letter to the Stetson|Mark McKinnon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And who better to do that with than the actress who is playing the object of said (alleged) lesbian affection in the flick?
Inside the Lifetime Whitney Houston Movie’s Lesbian Lover Storyline|Kevin Fallon|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If they run off with somebody else, we say they were stolen—as if they are an object or a commodity.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He can barely speak the titles, but manages to let Viridiana and That Obscure Object of Desire pass from his lips.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The show, Bell Hooks argued in Black Looks: Race and Representation, “represents wom[e]n as the object of a phallocentric gaze.”
Science-Fiction TV Finds a New Muse: Feminism|David Levesley|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The thought seemed to produce the dreaded object, for next moment a large hummock appeared right ahead.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Naturally the conversation fell on the all-absorbing topic of the day and the object of his mission.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
To make the effort of articulation a vital impulse in response to a mental concept,—this is the object sought.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The object of this practise is to attain facility in manipulating the elements while maintaining the smooth quality of the tone.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Every time he is dressed, or sees his mother dress, he has an object-lesson in symmetrical arrangement.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for indirect object

indirect object

noun

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 newspaperCompare direct 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 indirect object

indirect object

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.”

notes for indirect object

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