direct objectn. A word or phrase in a sentence referring to the person or thing receiving the action of a transitive verb. For example, in English, in mail the letter and call him, letter and him are direct objects.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.direct object n (Grammar) grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase whose referent receives the direct action of a verb. For example, a book is the direct object in the sentence They bought Anne a book. Compare indirect object Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014direct? ob?ject n. a word or group of words representing the person or thing upon which the action of a verb is performed or toward which it is directed, as the pronoun it in I saw it. [1900?05] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.