objetivo

Objetivo is a Spanish noun and, less commonly, an adjective with several related senses. As a masculine noun, it most often denotes an aim, goal, target, or purpose—the result a person or group seeks to reach. It can also refer to a concrete target in contexts such as military action, sports, or project planning. In educational and professional language, it is used to name intended outcomes: for example, “objetivos de aprendizaje,” “objetivos del proyecto,” or “objetivos estratégicos.”

As an adjective, objetivo describes something impartial, neutral, or factual; its feminine form is objetiva, and the plural forms are objetivos (masculine) and objetivas (feminine). The term thus crosses into evaluations, analyses, or descriptions that emphasize neutrality or aims.

In photography and optics, el objetivo is the lens of a camera or microscope—the optical component that gathers light, focuses the image, and determines magnification. This sense is widely used in technical and consumer photography.

Etymology: objetivo comes from Latin obiectivus, via French objectif, related to the notion of an object or purpose. Distinct from synonyms such as meta or fin, objetivo emphasizes concrete ends or neutral description in many professional contexts. The term is versatile across fields, from planning and education to science and imaging.