object
/ˈɒbdʒɪkt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɑːbdʒɪkt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈäb-jikt -(ˌ)jekt/ (ame, mw) · /əbˈdʒekt/ (bre, ipa) · /əbˈdʒekt/ (ame, ipa)
object — noun
1. a solid item, usually small enough to hold or move, that you can look at and tou
a solid item, usually small enough to hold or move, that you can look at and touch — for example a cup, a key, or a book — and that is not a person, animal, or plant.
Sara emptied her bag and laid each object on the kitchen table.
concrete countable noun in object position
The museum keeps small ancient objects inside locked glass cases.
plural with descriptive adjectives
Please do not leave sharp objects within reach of young children.
A strange shiny object was floating in the swimming pool.
Customs officers asked Mr Lin to declare any metal objects in his luggage.
用法筆記
Often modified by an adjective of size, shape, or material (small / round / metal / wooden). Use 'thing' in casual speech; 'object' sounds more careful or technical.
常見錯誤
2. in a sentence, the word or phrase that names whoever or whatever a verb acts on,
in a sentence, the word or phrase that names whoever or whatever a verb acts on, or that sits right after a preposition; for example 'apple' in 'I ate an apple'.
In the sentence 'Mia broke the vase', the word 'vase' is the direct object.
direct object terminology
An indirect object often names the person who receives something, like 'her' in 'I gave her a letter'.
indirect object terminology
Ms Choi told Daniel that 'park' is the object of the preposition 'to' in 'We walked to the park'.
Mr Park asked the class to underline the verb and circle the object in each sentence.
- complement
wider grammatical term; not always equal to object
- patient
linguistics jargon for the affected role
- subject
the doer of the action, not the receiver
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (a physical thing) by context — this sense appears almost only in grammar lessons or linguistics, alongside terms like 'subject', 'verb', 'direct', 'indirect'.
常見錯誤
3. what someone hopes to reach or bring about by doing something — the result they
what someone hopes to reach or bring about by doing something — the result they have in mind when they take action; close in meaning to 'aim' or 'goal'.
The object of the workshop is to help new teachers plan a balanced lesson.
the object of [activity] + to-infinitive
Mr Daley travelled to Geneva with the object of meeting two old clients.
with the object of + -ing
In chess, the object of the game is to trap the opponent's king.
Saving fuel was the main object of every change the airline made last year.
文法句型
the object of [activity]
with the object of doing sth
用法筆記
Slightly formal; in everyday speech, 'aim', 'goal' or 'point' is more common. Often used in fixed phrases such as 'the object of the exercise' meaning the real reason behind doing something.
常見錯誤
4. the outcome that is meant to come out of an activity — the success people are wo
the outcome that is meant to come out of an activity — the success people are working towards rather than the broader reason for trying.
A clean kitchen, not a fancy meal, was the object of Saturday's cooking class.
names the desired outcome of an activity
The object of the rescue drill is a safe evacuation in under three minutes.
Quick replies to customers are the object of every shift at the help desk.
Beating last year's total was the clear object of this charity run.
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 3 by focus: sense 3 (AIM) names the reason for acting; this sense names the concrete result an activity is meant to produce. The two often overlap and can be hard to tell apart.
5. whoever or whatever others aim a strong feeling, attention, or action at — for e
whoever or whatever others aim a strong feeling, attention, or action at — for example, the person someone is in love with, or the topic a piece of research is centred on.
After her speech, Lin became the object of admiration in the whole faculty.
the object of admiration
Old coins from the Tang dynasty were the object of Professor Hsu's research for many years.
the object of [academic] research
The new tax law quickly became the object of heavy criticism from small business owners.
Marco swore that Elena would always be the only object of his love.
The young actor was the object of much teasing from his older brothers.
文法句型
the object of [emotion / attention]
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person or thing that does NOT act, but instead receives the feeling or attention. Frequent in the frame 'the object of [emotion noun]' — admiration, desire, pity, ridicule, study.
常見錯誤
object — verb
1. to say or show that you do not agree with something, or that you do not like it,
to say or show that you do not agree with something, or that you do not like it, often because you think it is wrong, unfair, or unpleasant.
Several parents objected to the new dress code at the school meeting.
object to sth
Carla objected that the deadline was far too short for any team to meet.
object that + clause
Nobody objected when Mr Reyes suggested moving the picnic to next Saturday.
Local farmers strongly objected to building a new highway across their fields.
The defence lawyer rose at once and objected to the witness's last answer.
- oppose
stronger; often longer-term resistance
- protest
often public and visible; can be a noun too
- disagree
milder; suggests difference of opinion, not active resistance
- disapprove
expresses moral or personal dislike, less about open argument
文法句型
object to sth/sb
object that + clause
object to doing sth
用法筆記
Note the stress shift: noun /ˈɒb.dʒɪkt/ but verb /əbˈdʒekt/. Almost always followed by 'to' + noun or -ing form, or by 'that' + clause; rarely takes a direct object outside legal contexts ('Counsel objected the question').
常見錯誤
object — adjective
1. relating to object code — the low-level instructions, in a form a computer can r
relating to object code — the low-level instructions, in a form a computer can run, that a compiler produces from a programmer's source code.
The compiler turned Mei's C source files into a single object file ready to link.
object file
Engineers ship the object library to clients without sharing the original source code.
object library
Each tiny change in the program produces fresh object code on the build server.
The old object module no longer matches the latest version of our header files.
- source
the human-readable form of the program
文法句型
object + noun (code, file, library)
用法筆記
Always attributive (used directly before a noun like 'code', 'file', 'library', 'module'). Never used after a linking verb — you cannot say 'this code is object'.