objective

American  

[uhb-jek-tiv] / əbˈdʒɛk tɪv /

noun

1. something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target: the objective of a fund-raising drive.

   the objective of a military attack;

   the objective of a fund-raising drive.

   Synonyms:

   aim, destination, object

2. Grammar.

   1. Also called objective case.  (in English and some other languages) a case specialized for the use of a form as the object of a transitive verb or of a preposition, as him in The boy hit him, or me in He comes to me with his troubles.

   2. a word in that case.

3. Also called object glass, object lens.  Also called objective lens.  Optics. (in a telescope, microscope, camera, or other optical system) the lens or combination of lenses that first receives the rays from the object and forms the image in the focal plane of the eyepiece, as in a microscope, or on a plate or screen, as in a camera.

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adjective

1. being the object or goal of one's efforts or actions.

2. not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased.

   an objective opinion.

   Synonyms:

   disinterested, impersonal, fair, impartial

   Antonyms:

   personal

3. intent upon or dealing with things external to the mind rather than with thoughts or feelings, as a person or a book.

4. being the object of perception or thought; belonging to the object of thought rather than to the thinking subject (subjective ).

5. of or relating to something that can be known, or to something that is an object or a part of an object; existing independent of thought or an observer as part of reality.

6. Grammar.

   1. pertaining to the use of a form as the object of a transitive verb or of a preposition.

   2. (in English and some other languages) noting the objective case.

   3. similar to such a case in meaning.

   4. (in case grammar) pertaining to the semantic role of a noun phrase that denotes something undergoing a change of state or bearing a neutral relation to the verb, as the rock in The rock moved or in The child threw the rock.

7. being part of or pertaining to an object to be drawn.

   an objective plane.

8. Medicine/Medical. (of a symptom) discernible to others as well as the patient.

objective British  

/ əbˈdʒɛktɪv, ˌɒbdʒɛkˈtaɪvəl /

adjective

1. existing independently of perception or an individual's conceptions

   are there objective moral values?

2. undistorted by emotion or personal bias

3. of or relating to actual and external phenomena as opposed to thoughts, feelings, etc

4. med (of disease symptoms) perceptible to persons other than the individual affected

5. grammar denoting a case of nouns and pronouns, esp in languages having only two cases, that is used to identify the direct object of a finite verb or preposition and for various other purposes. In English the objective case of pronouns is also used in many elliptical constructions (as in Poor me! Who, him? ), as the subject of a gerund (as in It was me helping him ), informally as a predicate complement (as in It's me ), and in nonstandard use as part of a compound subject (as in John, Larry, and me went fishing ) See also accusative

6. of, or relating to a goal or aim

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noun

1. the object of one's endeavours; goal; aim

2. Also called: objective point.  military a place or position towards which forces are directed

3. an actual phenomenon; reality

4. grammar

   1. the objective case

   2. a word or speech element in the objective case

5. Also called: object glass.  optics

   1. the lens or combination of lenses nearest to the object in an optical instrument

   2. the lens or combination of lenses forming the image in a camera or projector

objective Scientific  

/ əb-jĕk′tĭv /

1. The lens or mirror in a microscope or other optical instrument that first receives light rays from the object and forms the image.

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Other Word Forms

• objectival adjective
• objectively adverb
• objectiveness noun
• objectivity noun
• preobjective adjective
• quasi-objective adjective
• semiobjective adjective
• semiobjectiveness noun
• unobjective adjective

Etymology

Origin of objective

First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin objectīvus, equivalent to Latin object(us) ( object ) + -īvus adjective suffix ( -ive )

Explanation

An objective is something you plan to achieve. A military objective is the overall plan for a mission. The objective for a bake sale is to raise money. If your objective is to learn a new word, you have succeeded. An objective is the point of something. If you don’t understand the objective of a class, then you don’t know what you were supposed to learn. The word itself is often used in business or work. Another meaning of objective is “looking at things in a detached, impartial, fact-based way.” If a police officer falls in love with a witness, it might be hard for her to stay objective. The word comes from the Latin ob "against" + jacere "to throw.”

Example Sentences

Survival has always been the clerical regime’s primary objective.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

A central objective for all three unions is significantly higher pay, but the details vary widely between the proposals.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Sell-side analysts are expected to produce objective research.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

For five years now, the Fed has missed its 2% inflation target and it’s quite clear to strategist Dimitris Valatsas that the trend is “up, up and further away” from that objective.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

There is something like aggression in the activity, but it differs from other forms of aggressive behavior in having no sort of destruction as the objective.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• detached
• disinterested
• dispassionate
• equitable
• evenhanded
• nonpartisan
• open-minded
• unbiased