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object

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "object", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "object" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "object" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

object is aEnglishnoun. It means: A thing that has physical existence but is not alive. Pronounced /ˈɒb.d͡ʒɛkt/. It ranks #2,689 in English word frequency. Often confused with objects and objected.

Key facts for object
PropertyValue
Headwordobject
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒb.d͡ʒɛkt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,689
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of object in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for object is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɒb.d͡ʒɛkt/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,689 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for object, with forms such as "boject", "obbject", and "obejct". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "objects", "objected", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 (anti… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is object, spelled O-B-J-E-C-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thing that has physical existence but is not alive.
  2. 2
    Objective; goal, end or purpose of something.
  3. 3
    The noun phrase which is an internal complement of a verb phrase or a prepositional phrase. In a verb phrase with a transitive action verb, it is typically the receiver of the action.
  4. 4
    A person or thing toward which an emotion is directed.
  5. 5
    A person or thing toward which an emotion is directed.
  6. 6
    An instantiation of a class or structure.
  7. 7
    An instance of one of the two kinds of entities that form a category, the other kind being the arrows (also called morphisms).
  8. 8
    Sight; show; appearance; aspect.

Etymology

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.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: boject,obbject,obejct,objcet,objecct,objectt,objetc,objject,ojbect

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for object

Misspelling Variants of "object"

boject6obbject7obejct6objcet6objecct7objectt7objetc6objject7
Misspelling Variants of "object"

Frequency rank: #2,689 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "object"?
"object" is spelled O-B-J-E-C-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒb.d͡ʒɛkt/.
What does "object" mean?
As a noun, "object" means: A thing that has physical existence but is not alive.
What words are commonly confused with "object"?
"object" is commonly confused with "objects", "objected". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "object"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "object" is /ˈɒb.d͡ʒɛkt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "object"?
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 ἀντικείμ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter O in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.