In software development, an object is an entity that has state, behavior, and identity.
Put another way, an object represents an individual, identifiable item, unit, or entity, either real or abstract, with a well-defined role in the problem domain.
A language that provides an encapsulation construct for state, behavior, and identity is classified as object-based.
If the language also provides polymorphism and inheritance it is classified as object-oriented.
A language that supports creating an object from a class is classified as class-based.