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object

n.
US //ˈɑbdʒɛkt// ob·ject
  1. 1 a physical thing (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    a physical thing that you can see and touch but is not alive.

    a material thing that can be seen and touched; a discrete physical entity.

    Example

    There was a strange metal object lying in the middle of the road.

    Example

    The archaeologists discovered several everyday objects, including pottery shards and bronze coins, buried beneath the floor of the villa.
  2. 2 a goal or purpose (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the reason for doing something or the goal you want to reach.

    the goal, end, or purpose of a specific action or effort.

    Example

    The object of the game is to collect as many points as possible.

    Example

    The primary object of the new legislation is to reduce carbon emissions without harming the local manufacturing industry.
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  1. 3 grammar (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Technical Science

    the noun or pronoun in a sentence that receives the action of a verb.

    the noun phrase which is an internal complement of a verb phrase or a prepositional phrase.

    Example

    In the sentence 'I love pizza', the word 'pizza' is the object.

    Example

    Students often struggle to distinguish between the direct object and the indirect object when learning complex sentence structures.

    Usage

    In the sentence 'I kicked the ball', 'the ball' is the direct object.
  2. 4 target of emotion (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal

    a person or thing that someone directs a strong feeling toward.

    a person or thing toward which a specific emotion or thought is directed.

    Example

    He became an object of pity after he lost his job and his house.

    Example

    The mysterious stranger soon became the object of intense curiosity among the villagers, who rarely saw newcomers in their small town.
  3. 5 computing (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a piece of data in a computer program that has its own properties.

    an instantiation of a class or structure within object-oriented programming.

    Example

    The programmer created a new object to represent the user's profile.

    Example

    In object-oriented design, each object encapsulates both data and the methods that operate on that data.
Origin

From Old French object, from Medieval Latin obiectum (“object”, literally “thrown against”), from obiectus, perfect passive participle of obiciō (“to throw against”), from ob- (“against”) + iaciō (“to throw”), as a calque of Ancient Greek ἀντικείμενον (antikeímenon). Doublet of objectum and objet.

Word family
Idioms1 entry

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