object lesson

noun

1. a practical or concrete illustration of a principle.

object lesson

noun

1. a convincing demonstration of some principle or ideal

2. (esp formerly) a lesson in which a material object forms the basis of the teaching and is available to be inspected

Word History and Origins

Origin of object lesson¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

“But it’s also an object lesson in what you can do if you’re solvent — and clever — during the worst recession in Southern California since the 1930s.”

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Industry insiders have told the BBC that Fishwick is now regarded as an object lesson in how not to run an installation project.

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He gave a television interview that was so legendarily awful it’s become an object lesson in how not to start a campaign.

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Asked whether Perry’s flop 2024 album “143” served as a kind of object lesson — a cautionary tale, perhaps, regarding the challenges in moving between TV and music — Underwood said, “I don’t really think about it.”

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But it’s actually more like an object lesson, or a warning to those who insist that whatever else may go wrong, a stable and established liberal democracy cannot collapse into chaos, dictatorship or civil war.

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