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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

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is reaching a historic distance of one light-day from Earth, becoming the first human-made object ever to travel that far from our planet.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

This is because each molten blade would naturally cool into a solid object consisting of many small grains of metal alloy, all jumbled together.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

This is one of many plot twists and switchbacks, the most dramatic of which ends with a final showdown in which an exquisitely fragile object overpowers firearms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Her next love object, courtesy of Tinder, is even less promising—a brainy, handsome factory worker on the cusp of 30, 14 years her junior.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

“There is a rule about candy, and the rule is this: There is no candy allowed in school! None! If anyone dares to object, they ought to come see me right now!”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

"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

He hears anecdotally that “they are intrigued by the book as an object. They enjoy the tactility of it. They don’t just want an e-book.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2023

“It’s not like that. The sentence doesn’t have, like, an object. I’m just scared.”

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

In the “Ring,” Wagner employs a complex system of leitmotifs—short themes that identify characters, objects, places and ideas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Lindell objects in particular to claims that postquantum cryptographic algorithms, which are gradually being implemented, might be vulnerable enough to AI’s mathematical discoveries to force us to rethink the safeguards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Objects appearing to our right are projected onto the left side of the retina, while objects on our left are projected onto the right.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

That’s because it always has been easier to do so when we think of machines as animate objects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

It used water to lift up heavy objects.

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

In addition to the concentration levels, JPMorgan objected to the use of margin debt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

It also was opposed by the union representing Los Angeles Police Department officers, which objected to limiting the revenue to one city department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton had previously objected to the shortening of race distances.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Nine companies have objected to having their shares trade on OKXICE’s proposed platform, highlighting resistance to a new model of stock trading.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

“I can’t take your father’s dagger,” Kaede objected, trying to give it back to Fin.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

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

According to minutes from a Thursday hearing on the matter, Rockwell concluded that, to the extent the measure’s backers object to that language, they are objecting to “the provisions of the measure itself.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

The visibly frail politician was objecting to state lawyers being appointed to represent him when he fell, prompting prison guards to rush him to hospital.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 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

“What do you know about him?” asked Laurie, grateful for the good advice, but objecting to the lecture, and glad to turn the conversation from himself after his unusual outbreak.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

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