objective
Americannoun
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something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target: the objective of a fund-raising drive.
the objective of a military attack;
the objective of a fund-raising drive.
- Synonyms:
- aim, destination, object
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Grammar.
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Also called objective case. (in English and some other languages) a case specialized for the use of a form as the object of a transitive verb or of a preposition, as him in The boy hit him, or me in He comes to me with his troubles.
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a word in that case.
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Also called object glass, object lens. Also called objective lens. Optics. (in a telescope, microscope, camera, or other optical system) the lens or combination of lenses that first receives the rays from the object and forms the image in the focal plane of the eyepiece, as in a microscope, or on a plate or screen, as in a camera.
adjective
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being the object or goal of one's efforts or actions.
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not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased.
an objective opinion.
- Synonyms:
- disinterested, impersonal, fair, impartial
- Antonyms:
- personal
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intent upon or dealing with things external to the mind rather than with thoughts or feelings, as a person or a book.
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being the object of perception or thought; belonging to the object of thought rather than to the thinking subject (opposed to subjective).
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of or relating to something that can be known, or to something that is an object or a part of an object; existing independent of thought or an observer as part of reality.
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Grammar.
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pertaining to the use of a form as the object of a transitive verb or of a preposition.
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(in English and some other languages) noting the objective case.
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similar to such a case in meaning.
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(in case grammar) pertaining to the semantic role of a noun phrase that denotes something undergoing a change of state or bearing a neutral relation to the verb, as the rock in The rock moved or in The child threw the rock.
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being part of or pertaining to an object to be drawn.
an objective plane.
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Medicine/Medical. (of a symptom) discernible to others as well as the patient.
adjective
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existing independently of perception or an individual's conceptions
are there objective moral values?
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undistorted by emotion or personal bias
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of or relating to actual and external phenomena as opposed to thoughts, feelings, etc
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med (of disease symptoms) perceptible to persons other than the individual affected
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grammar denoting a case of nouns and pronouns, esp in languages having only two cases, that is used to identify the direct object of a finite verb or preposition and for various other purposes. In English the objective case of pronouns is also used in many elliptical constructions (as in Poor me! Who, him? ), as the subject of a gerund (as in It was me helping him ), informally as a predicate complement (as in It's me ), and in nonstandard use as part of a compound subject (as in John, Larry, and me went fishing ) See also accusative
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of, or relating to a goal or aim
noun
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the object of one's endeavours; goal; aim
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Also called: objective point. military a place or position towards which forces are directed
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an actual phenomenon; reality
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grammar
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the objective case
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a word or speech element in the objective case
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Also called: object glass. optics
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the lens or combination of lenses nearest to the object in an optical instrument
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the lens or combination of lenses forming the image in a camera or projector
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of objective
First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin objectīvus, equivalent to Latin object(us) ( see object) + -īvus adjective suffix ( see -ive)
Explanation
An objective is something you plan to achieve. A military objective is the overall plan for a mission. The objective for a bake sale is to raise money. If your objective is to learn a new word, you have succeeded. An objective is the point of something. If you don’t understand the objective of a class, then you don’t know what you were supposed to learn. The word itself is often used in business or work. Another meaning of objective is “looking at things in a detached, impartial, fact-based way.” If a police officer falls in love with a witness, it might be hard for her to stay objective. The word comes from the Latin ob "against" + jacere "to throw.”
Vocabulary lists containing objective
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
County is embarking on a national search for an executive director to lead a team with one objective: closing Men’s Central Jail.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
The next objective is to "build a platform that aggregates multiple modes of transport" -- connecting cars to buses and trains.
From Barron's • May 31, 2026
Maybe their perception of it could be even more accurate, unburdened by distorted memories for an inherently objective historical account.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
The eurozone’s top central banker said independence can be secured by focusing narrowly on inflation as the key objective and acting to contain price rises even when there is an economic cost to doing so.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
This distinction between objective reality and subjective sensation was made by Lucretius.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
