object
/ OB-jekt /
An object is a bundle of related values kept together under named keys. Where an array gives each value a number, an object gives each value a label — name, age, email — so you can describe one whole thing, like a person, in a single tidy package.
Think of it as a labeled drawer versus an array's numbered row. You don't fetch by position ('give me item 0'); you fetch by name ('give me the email'). That makes objects perfect for things with distinct, meaningful parts, where the labels matter more than any order.
Each name-value pair is called a property: the key is the label, the value is what's stored under it. Objects can hold any kind of value, including other objects and arrays, so you can nest them to model surprisingly rich structures. This key-value shape is also exactly what JSON uses to ship data between programs.
const user = {
name: "Ada",
age: 36,
email: "[email protected]"
};
console.log(user.name); // "Ada"One person described by named keys; reach a value by its label, not its position.
Different languages name this idea differently — dictionary, map, hash, record — but it's the same key-value bundle underneath.