an instance of a COM Class at the runtime

an instance of a component object class, or component

an instance of an object definition, which specifies the object's data and one or more implementations of interfaces on the object

an object that adheres to Microsoft's COM ( C omponent O bject M odel) specification

an object that implements one or more COM interfaces, or in other words offers certain sets of functions

Component Object Model. COM refers to both a specification and implementation developed by Microsoft Corporation, which provides a framework for integrating components of a software application. COM allows developers to build software by assembling reusable components from different vendors.