object
noun /ˈɒbdʒɛkt/ /ˈɒbdʒɪkt 
/
/1A material thing that can be seen and touched: he was dragging a large object small objects such as shells...
- In the language center, for instance, toddlers learn vocabulary by touching and feeling available objects as they practice the names of the items and the sound of the letter.
- Just as in art everything depends on a limited but skillful use of color and sounds, so too the art of living demands a limited but skillful use of material objects.
- The group's knowledge of everyday objects and materials will then be tested through a quiz and the children will discover how fragments of history can help us build up a picture of the past.
Synonyms
thing, article, item, piece, device, gadget, entity, body
informal thingamajig, thingamabob, thingummy, whatsit, whatchamacallit, what-d'you-call-it, thingy
British informal doodah, doobry, gubbins
North American informal doodad, doohickey, doojigger
North American & South African informal dingus
Australian/New Zealand informal thingo
1.1 Philosophy A thing external to the thinking mind or subject.Schopenhauer's second class of objects for the mind is made up of concepts....
- We do not perceive the external object but only its effects in consciousness.
- Where Fichte in particular was happy to absorb the object into the subject, Kant preferred inconsistency to such a move.
2A person or thing to which a specified action or feeling is directed: disease became the object of investigation he hated being the object of public attention...
- The relationship between environment and organisms became the object of his attention.
- The romance became public when the object of her affection, a Swiss named Franco, announced plans to divorce his wife.
- If the object of a public consultation is to find out what the market thinks, Black's Consulting is on the right track.
Synonyms
target, butt, focus, recipient, victim
2.1A goal or purpose: the Institute was opened with the object of promoting scientific study...
- A goal is an object that the eye is focused on for the purpose of attaining it through constant attention and effort.
- This decision does illustrate how closely the express and implied powers of specialized agencies must be related to their specific objects and purposes.
- The result would hardly prove consistent with the object and purpose of the Statute and its intent to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes.
Synonyms
purpose, objective, aim, goal, target, end, end in view, plan, object of the exercise;
ambition, design, intent, intention, idea, point
3 Grammar A noun or noun phrase governed by an active transitive verb or by a preposition: in Gaelic the word order is verb, subject, object...
- Earlier forerunners rely entirely on intransitive or quasi-transitive verbs, with the object preceded by a preposition.
- Verbs can be either transitive or intransitive a transitive verb governs an object, whereas an intransitive verb does not.
- Mohawk is a polysynthetic language, in which noun objects can easily be incorporated into the verb.
4 Computing A data construct that provides a description of anything known to a computer (such as a processor or a piece of code) and defines its method of operation: the interface treats most items, including cells, graphs, and buttons, as objects...
- This method provides the ServletConfig object for initializing the servlet's parameters.
- System and method for distributed conflict resolution between data objects replicated across a computer network
- In order to put the Mason components and Perl objects on separate computers, we somehow need the ability to call an object method across a network.
verb /əbˈdʒɛkt / [reporting verb]
/ [reporting verb]1Say something to express one’s opposition to or disagreement with something: [no object]: residents object to the volume of traffic [with clause]: the boy’s father objected that the police had arrested him unlawfully [with direct speech]: ‘It doesn’t seem natural,’ she objected...
- In the end, Zahra was quite jealous, but only because she had gotten dressed while there was still time for their father to object to some of the outfits she wanted to wear.
- No child custody issues were implicated whatsoever under the Ninth Circuit ruling, only the father's rights to object to unconstitutional conduct.
- Still, he chose not to object to his father, opting for silence instead.
Synonyms
protest (against), lodge a protest (against), raise/express objections (to), express disapproval (of), express disagreement (with), oppose, be in opposition (to), take exception (to), take issue (with), take a stand against, argue (against), remonstrate (against), make a fuss (about), quarrel with, disapprove (of), condemn, draw the line (at), demur, mind, complain (about), moan (about), grumble (about), grouse (about), cavil (at), quibble (about);
beg to differ
informal kick up a fuss/stink (about), beef (about), gripe (about)
North American informal kvetch (about)
1.1 [with object] archaic Cite as a reason against something: Bryant objects this very circumstance to the authenticity of the Iliad
Phrases
no object
the object of the exercise
object of virtu
Derivatives
objectless
- Baudrillard insists that consumption is objectless, the ceaseless acquisition of artefacts that in fact have no end in themselves, and in doing so repeats a theme from Schopenhauer.
- Mystical illumination, then, unlike objectless contemplation, is inherently of the nature of a gift.
- The cliff was not in the way of anything, but this objectless blasting was all the work going on.
Origin
Late Middle English: from medieval Latin objectum 'thing presented to the mind', neuter past participle (used as a noun) of Latin obicere, from ob- 'in the way of' + jacere 'to throw'; the verb may also partly represent the Latin frequentative objectare.
Object as a noun meaning ‘a thing you can see and touch’ and as a verb meaning ‘to say that you disagree with something’ are related, both going back to the same Latin word, obicere. This meant ‘to throw at something else’. The earliest meaning in English was ‘put something in the way of something else’, and from this we get the idea of ‘oppose’. An obstacle placed in the path is something that can be seen, and this gives us the noun sense.