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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

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

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

He was a boogie boarder until the object of his adoration told him, “What are you riding that for? You should be surfing. Get a surfboard.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Many readers will object that such systems can’t believe or fear anything, they merely predict words.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

In the first years, those who dared to object to the war or express criticism of American policy were shut down immediately.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

The company said no-one was injured and its initial assessment was that an object extending above the roof of a moving vehicle came into contact with the drone.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Then I thought Mrs. Tracy might object because I didn’t campaign, but she didn’t.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

"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

To that, Cronenberg says, “My father was a stamp collector so I certainly understand the idea of collecting a rare object. Humans are strange. What can I say?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

“It’s beautiful and powerful, and I dare Principal Rivera to object. Let’s do it.”

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

These arguments are not made explicitly in the show but indicated through objects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Among the museum's Naga collection - which contains several thousand items - are 219 items are listed as human remains, 39 ancestral human remains and 178 objects that are thought to contain human hair.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Jordan’s work in film and television has her running around the city sourcing interesting objects, garments and more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Quantum mechanics describes the unusual behavior of atoms and other extremely small objects, while Einstein's theory of gravity explains falling bodies and the large-scale structure of the Universe.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

Almost all their technological objects had tails with three silver prongs at the tip.

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

Many victims’ families and advocacy groups, some of whom vowed to lay down in front of bulldozers, objected to rebuilding on the site because they considered it a graveyard and hallowed ground.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

But the presence of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov prompted protests from European officials, who objected to appearing in a traditional "family photo" with him.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Some families who objected to those policies helped fuel explicitly Christian scouting alternatives.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

The state’s powerful agricultural industry objected to the proposed ban.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

“Dunno. Football. School. Wrangling the odd bull who objected to losing his testicles.”

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

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

While objecting to the subpoenas in court, the company simultaneously convinced the DOJ to drop the case, he said.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

It was hard to imagine anyone objecting to these kindly people.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

Related Words

• article
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