SINCE 1828
object
noun
ob·ject
| \ ˈäb-jikt
, -(ˌ)jekt
\
, -(ˌ)jekt
\
Definition of object
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a
: something material that may be perceived by the senses
I see an object in the distance.
b
: something that when viewed stirs a particular emotion (such as pity)
Look on the tragic loading of this bed … the object poisons sight; let it be hid.— William Shakespeare
2a
: something mental or physical toward which thought, feeling, or action is directed
an object for study the object of my affection delicately carved art objects
b
: something physical that is perceived by an individual and becomes an agent for psychological identification
The mother is the primary object of the child.
b
: a cause for attention or concern
Money is no object.
4
: a thing that forms an element of or constitutes the subject matter of an investigation or science
objects of study
5a
: a noun or noun equivalent (such as a pronoun, gerund, or clause) denoting the goal or result of the action of a verb (such as ball in I hit the ball)
b
: a noun or noun equivalent in a prepositional phrase (such as table in on the table)
6a
: a data structure in object-oriented programming that can contain functions (see function entry 1 sense 7) as well as constants, variables, and other data structures
b
: a discrete entity (such as a window or icon) in computer graphics (see graphic entry 2 sense 2b) that can be manipulated independently of other such entities
object
verb
ob·ject
| \ əb-ˈjekt
\
\
objected;
objecting;
objects
Definition of object (Entry 2 of 3)
: to put forth in opposition or as an objection
objected that the statement was misleading
1
: to oppose something firmly and usually with words or arguments
2
: to feel distaste for something
object
adjective
\ ˈäb-jikt
, -(ˌ)jekt
\
, -(ˌ)jekt
\
Definition of object (Entry 3 of 3)
: of, relating to, or being object code
an object file
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Other Words from object
Noun
objectless
\ ˈäb-jikt-ləs
, -(ˌ)jekt- \
adjective
, -(ˌ)jekt- \
adjective
objectlessness
noun
Verb
objector
\ əb-ˈjek-tər
\
noun
\
noun
Synonyms for object
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Verb
demur, except, expostulate, kick, protest, remonstrate
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Examples of object in a Sentence
Noun
There were three objects in the box: a comb, a pen, and a button. His object is to determine how much the business will cost to operate.Verb
No one objected when the paintings were removed. “We can't buy the chair,” he objected. “It won't fit in the car.”
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Here at Cheniere’s Corpus Christi Liquefaction plant, the first built-from-scratch LNG export facility in the United States in nearly 50 years, weather is no object. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "America's New Energy Coast," 19 Mar. 2019 Hadid artfully showcased the fire-engine red hardback cover, complete with ominous silhouette of a man holding an unidentified object, alongside her hand which was clad in an appropriately creepy lime green glove. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "Would You Join the Bella and Gigi Hadid Book Club?," 18 Mar. 2019 For too long, girls have been relegated to the sidelines in these stories, limited to being some sort of Winnie Cooper type—a chaste, flawless object of affection with perfect manners and not a single zit. — Bonnie Stiernberg, Glamour, "I Wish Every Teen Girl Would Watch Hulu's PEN15," 10 Mar. 2019 And like many of Bauhaus' inspired objects, both architectural and functional. — Todd Plummer, Town & Country, "One Century Later, Bauhaus Is Still a Major Fashion Influence," 13 Feb. 2019 This also means that the various objects—a rubber duck, a model boat, and an umbrella—that Mary threw into the tub went down the slide as well, and someone caught them on the other side. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "This 'Mary Poppins Returns' Behind-the-Scenes Secret Has Everyone Freaking Out," 15 Jan. 2019 Live Albums use Google’s object recognition technology to automatically identify specific people or pets and group them together into an album. — Jon Porter, The Verge, "Google Photos doubles limit for Live Albums," 20 Dec. 2018 The cosmic object that had traveled so far to reach Earth, a subatomic particle called a neutrino, shoots through the universe in a straight line — passing through stars and even people without shifting course. — Mark Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Blazing a trail: UW professor's dream leads to breakthrough in identifying origin of cosmic rays," 12 July 2018 And sensors in the headset can detects surfaces, planes and objects, which Magic Leap has said allows for a digital reconstruction of your physical surroundings. — Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, "Magic Leap mixed reality headsets closer to reality with AT&T investment," 11 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Our bodies aren't just objects to be pursued and desired by our partners. — Jenna Birch, Woman's Day, "11 Love Lessons Every Mother Should Teach Her Daughter," 23 Jan. 2019 The hour-long, black-and-white Heaven and Earth Magic, made in the 50s, uses cutout animation to produce a mysterious world of alchemical transformations in which objects suggest a multitude of possibilities. — Patrick Friel, Chicago Reader, "Film / Foreign / On Video Five masters of stop-motion animation," 12 June 2018 In his letter, Geary noted results of a recent survey in which parents and staff favored keeping uniforms and expanding the requirement to fifth-graders in the fall, while students overwhelmingly objected to the requirement. — Jesse Leavenworth, Courant Community, "Manchester School Officials To Establish Student Dress Code After Ditching Uniforms," 17 May 2018 Facebook, for its part, isn't particularly clear about what happens to that data once it's received, but certainly wouldn't object to continuing to get it. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "There's a Whole Web of Popular Apps Sending Your Data Off to Facebook," 2 Jan. 2019 The most memorable moment of this protest came after Cardiff's loss at Anfield in December where the fans stayed for about an hour after the final whistle, professing their love for Mackay and objecting to his potential removal as Cardiff manager. — SI.com, "From Hero to Villain to Hero Again: The Vincent Tan Journey," 8 July 2018 Guillory objected to the characterization of his relationship with Mayo and claimed defamation, false light invasion of privacy and negligent misrepresentation. — Danielle Lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Three reasons Louisville players are unlikely to win lawsuit vs. NCAA," 11 July 2018 Other liberal Christians also are objecting to efforts to use religious freedom as a ruse. — Yonat Shimron, Houston Chronicle, "A campaign to blitz the country with ‘In God We Trust’ laws takes root," 7 July 2018 On July 3, over 40 WTO countries—including the entirety of the European Union, China, and Russia—objected to a White House plan to impose tariffs on automobiles. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, "Trump’s Big Trade War Bluff," 5 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
But a key difference is that these are entirely in 3D and are deployed with a much smarter sense of spatial and object recognition, thanks to Google’s advances in artificial intelligence. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Google has a big advantage over Facebook in a crisis," 10 Oct. 2018 In South Korea, where the government of President Moon Jae-in has been pushing for the détente between the United States and North Korea, officials did not object outright to Mr. Trump’s surprise announcement about military drills. — Motoko Rich, New York Times, "Trump-Kim Summit Creates New Anxieties for Asian Allies," 13 June 2018 Annihilation’s great achievement is in exploring these themes through object embodiment, rather than in words. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "Annihilation Is a Brilliant Splicing of Woolf With Cronenberg," 27 Feb. 2018 Fans will no doubt object to the change since the race - like everything else about Marlins baseball - is steeped in tradition, dating all the way back to 2012. — Bud Shaw, cleveland.com, "Which trade deadline addition will make the biggest impact for the Cavs: Bud vs. Doug," 14 Feb. 2018 But Democrats — who are typically fiercely opposed to any reductions in Medicare, which would see roughly $25 billion in cuts per year — did not object Thursday. — Author: Mike Debonis, Erica Werner, Anchorage Daily News, "Congress averts partial government shutdown with Senate passage of stopgap spending bill," 22 Dec. 2017 Hence, the New Yorker’s dilemma: resign yourself to living with an unsightly object year-round or go to the trouble of removing it? — Ronda Kaysen, New York Times, "The Window Air-Conditioner: Should It Stay or Go?," 3 Nov. 2017 Princeton Lightwave's technology will help Argo move forward in handling object detection in challenging scenarios, such as fog, heavy rain and snow and safely operating at high speeds. — Greg Gardner, Detroit Free Press, "Ford partner Argo AI buys Princeton Lightwave to expand autonomous tools," 27 Oct. 2017 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, didn’t even object to Senator Orrin Hatch’s suggestion that Hill had copied one of her stories about Clarence Thomas from The Exorcist. — Rebecca Traister, The Cut, "The Conversation We Should Be Having," 19 Oct. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'object.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for object
object
noun
English Language Learners Definition of object
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a thing that you can see and touch and that is not alive
: someone or something that makes you feel a specified emotion
: someone or something that your attention or interest is directed toward
object
verb
English Language Learners Definition of object (Entry 2 of 2)
: to disagree with something or oppose something
: to say (something that explains why you oppose something or disagree)
See the full definition for object in the English Language Learners Dictionary
object
noun
ob·ject
| \ ˈäb-jikt
\
\
Kids Definition of object
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: something that may be seen or felt
Tables and chairs are objects.
3
: something that arouses feelings in an observer
That diamond is the object of their envy.
4
: a noun or a term behaving like a noun that receives the action of a verb or completes the meaning of a preposition
object
verb
ob·ject
| \ əb-ˈjekt
\
\
objected;
objecting
Kids Definition of object (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to offer or mention as a reason for a feeling of disapproval
She objected that the price was too high.
2
: to oppose something firmly and usually with words
Surely her mother would not object to a nutritious hard-boiled egg.— Beverly Cleary, Ramona Quimby
object
noun
ob·ject
| \ ˈäb-(ˌ)jekt, -jikt
\
\
Medical Definition of object
1
: something material that may be perceived by the senses
2
: something mental or physical toward which thought, feeling, or action is directed
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object
noun
ob·ject
| \ ˈäb-jikt
\
\
Legal Definition of object
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: something toward which thought, feeling, or action is directed — see also natural object
2
: the purpose or goal of something
especially, in the civil law of Louisiana
: the purpose for which a contract or obligation is formed
object
transitive verb
ob·ject
| \ əb-ˈjekt
\
\
Legal Definition of object (Entry 2 of 2)
: to state in opposition or as an objection
objected that the evidence was inadmissible
: to state opposition especially to something in a judicial proceeding
objected to the testimony on the ground that it was hearsay
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Comments on object
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