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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

Net interest costs, the most immovable object in the budget, are projected to climb by more than 1% of GDP over the next decade, according to CBO.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 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

Rather than orbiting a planet, this unusual object circles a brown dwarf, a celestial body more massive than a planet but not massive enough to become a star.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

The code is now subject to a 40-day period of parliamentary scrutiny, during which MPs and peers can object before it is formally issued.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

It was a small, round object, made of metal, black in color.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

"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

Psyche “is a very unusual object. It must come from an unusual process,” Elkins-Tanton said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2023

“And in his hand you saw an object. Is that correct?”

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

They also provide valuable clues about the behavior of much larger asteroids, including objects ranging from the size of cars to entire city blocks that can produce powerful explosions in the atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Among the fastest rotating objects examined, a complete rotation took between 0.5 and 5 seconds.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

Medals, reliefs, funerary monuments, large and small figure sculptures, plus a few utilitarian objects, offer a capsule history of modeling and casting in the Tuscan city.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

The box contained photographs, a few small objects, and a snow globe from the Coney Island lighthouse.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

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

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 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

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

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

Some members were rumored to have objected to Friedman’s policy proposals in his “ ‘careless’ commentaries in his magazine columns.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

When Bobby got older and started doing calisthenics, management objected to that, too.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Among those objecting to the bill were banking groups, who argued that allowing digital tokens to pay out interest-like rewards would present unacceptable competition to regional lenders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Rea said that the defence will be objecting to that.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 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

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

I mean, what I’m really objecting to are the words, not standing or sitting.

From "The Misfits" by James Howe

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