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• object
  object

  noun

  anything that is visible or tangible and is relatively stable in form.
• object.
  object.

  abbreviation

  objection.

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object

¹ American  

[ob-jikt, -jekt, uhb-jekt] / ˈɒb dʒɪkt, -dʒɛkt, əbˈdʒɛkt /

noun

• objects
  plural

1. anything that is visible or tangible and is relatively stable in form.

2. a thing, person, or matter to which thought or action is directed.

   an object of medical investigation.

3. the end toward which effort or action is directed; goal; purpose.

   Profit is the object of business.

   Synonyms:

   motive, intention, intent, aim, target, objective

4. a person or thing with reference to the impression made on the mind or the feeling or emotion elicited in an observer.

   an object of curiosity and pity.

5. anything that may be apprehended intellectually.

   objects of thought.

6. Optics. the thing of which a lens or mirror forms an image.

7. Grammar. (in many languages, such as English) a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that represents either the goal of the action of a verb or the goal of a preposition in a prepositional phrase: for example, ball in John hit the ball, or Venice in He came to Venice, or coin and her in He gave her a coin.

8. Digital Technology.

   1. any item that can be individually selected or manipulated, as a picture, data file, or piece of text.

   2. in object-oriented programming, a self-contained entity that consists of both data and operations to manipulate the data.

9. Metaphysics. something toward which a cognitive act is directed.

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verb (used without object)

• objects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• objected,
  past participle,  past
• objecting
  present participle

1. to offer a reason or argument in opposition.

2. to express or feel disapproval, dislike, or distaste; be averse.

3. to refuse or attempt to refuse to permit some action, speech, etc.

verb (used with object)

• objects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• objected,
  past participle,  past
• objecting
  present participle

1. to state, claim, or cite in opposition; put forward in objection, disagreement, or disapproval.

   Some people objected that the proposed import duty would harm world trade.

2. Archaic. to bring forward or cite in opposition.

object. ² American  

abbreviation

1. objection.

2. objective.

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object ¹ British  

/ ˈɒbdʒɪkt /

noun

1. a tangible and visible thing

2. a person or thing seen as a focus or target for feelings, thought, etc

   an object of affection

3. an aim, purpose, or objective

4. informal a ridiculous or pitiable person, spectacle, etc

5. philosophy that towards which cognition is directed, as contrasted with the thinking subject; anything regarded as external to the mind, esp in the external world

6. grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase whose referent is the recipient of the action of a verb See also direct object indirect object

7. grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that is governed by a preposition

8. not a hindrance or obstacle

   money is no object

9. computing a self-contained identifiable component of a software system or design

   object-oriented programming

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object ² British  

/ əbˈdʒɛkt /

verb

1. (tr; takes a clause as object) to state as an objection

   he objected that his motives had been good

2. to raise or state an objection (to); present an argument (against)

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object Cultural  

1. A part of a sentence; a noun, pronoun, or group of words that receives or is affected by the action of a verb. (See direct object, indirect object, and objective case.)

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object Idioms  

1. see money is no object.

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Synonym Usage

See aim.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• objector
  noun
• overobject
  verb
• reobject
  verb (used with object)
• unobjected
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• objects
  plural

Participles

• objecting
  present
• objected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• object
  simple
• objects
  simple
• have objected
  perfect
• has objected
  perfect
• am objecting
  progressive
• are objecting
  progressive
• is objecting
  progressive
• have been objecting
  perfect progressive
• has been objecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• objected
  simple
• had objected
  perfect
• was objecting
  progressive
• were objecting
  progressive
• had been objecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will object
  simple
• will have objected
  perfect
• will be objecting
  progressive
• will have been objecting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of object

First recorded in 1325–75; (noun) Middle English: “something perceived, purpose, objection,” from Medieval Latin objectum “something thrown down or presented (to the mind),” noun use of neuter of Latin objectus “thrown toward,” past participle of obicere, objicere “to throw toward” ( see ob- ( def. ), jet ¹ ( def. )); verb from Middle French obje(c)ter, from Latin objectāre “to throw or put before, oppose,” frequentative of obicere, objicere, as above

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Explanation

When your younger brother runs around the house with scissors, you should definitely object. Perhaps a less sharp object such as a roll of paper towels would suffice. An object (OB-ject) is something that is a visible entity, something that can be perceived by the senses. If you are unsure whether something is an object, test it by seeing whether it can cast a shadow; if it can, it's an object, if it can't, it's not. In court, lawyers will often say, "I object!" Here, the verb object (ob-JECT) means to express disagreement.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

object object. objects objected objecting

The judges object to him playing the part of a lawyer in his regulation-brown prison shorts, his feet bare and shackled.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Ms. Corn examines “American Gothic” as the physical object that hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago and the “art icon” that has been adapted for political cartoons, greeting cards, advertisements and re-enactments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

How could the owners of this catalog, of all people, object to well-funded operations cranking out simulations?

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

“I was terrified,” Manfre said, adding that he believed he saw a shiny metal object in the man’s fist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

A hand cupped around an object —any object—could resemble a threat: a sandwich, a bag of Skittles, a BB gun, a stick of chalk, a palmful of air.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

"And they could not see the object. With JWST, our entire observation took around two hours, and we were successful."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026

"What is left is an inanimate object. Like all other objects, some people have no interest in this, some people think it's repulsive, but other people like them and they collect them."

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

“Your honor, I object. This case is not funny!” pleads the prosecutor amid the sweltering hilarity, but few appear to agree with him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

“People have feelings; we have anxiety. And by definition, anxiety doesn’t have a specific object. It’s just: “I feel anxious.”

From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026

“Just give me an object. Just say any object. Go on.”

From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel

As we’ve come to expect from Ms. Hill, the show doesn’t force a theory; it lets the objects, 170 of them, tell the stories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

Berlant was a collector of both ancient Southwest pottery and Paleolithic stone objects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

And the juxtaposition of objects within a room creates lively dialogues among the artifacts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

The cloak can conceal objects with a wide variety of shapes, regardless of the direction from which heat approaches.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

I am capable of lifting heavy objects and working long hours under the hot sun.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Meanwhile, Mulroy has objected to his staff spending time on the reporting requirements, which he called “pointless busywork.”

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Manouchehri objected that the remarks were out of turn for public comment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The nurses were told they should change somewhere else if they objected.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Unlike Greenland, no countries objected to their joining the U.S.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

The defense attorney had objected to the harsh penalty for a twelve-year-old’s first offense and requested a stay, which is the legal term for stalling.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Companies including AI chip maker Broadcom and telecom Verizon are objecting to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s move to tokenize their stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Senior Labour councillor Lee Bridgeman added his voice to those objecting this week.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Nathan Hochman’s handling of the case, objecting to the statements his office released earlier this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Ruth said her brothers are objecting and have threatened to sue Ruth over their potential inheritance and custody of the remains.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

A gifted French-horn player, as a teen he was a member of the American University Symphony but quit, according to Walt, after objecting to rules imposed by a high school band leader.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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