Object.prototype.defineGetter()

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

Note: This feature is deprecated in favor of defining Object.defineProperty() API. This method's behavior is only specified for web compatibility, and is not required to be implemented in any platform. It may not work everywhere.

The __defineGetter__() method of Object instances binds an object's property to a function to be called when that property is looked up.

Syntax

__defineGetter__(prop, func)

Parameters

prop: A string containing the name of the property that the getter func is bound to.
func: A function to be bound to a lookup of the specified property.

Return value

None (undefined).

Exceptions

TypeError: Thrown if func is not a function.

Description

All objects that inherit from Object.prototype (that is, all except Object.defineProperty(obj, prop, { get: func, configurable: true, enumerable: true }), which means the property is enumerable and configurable, and any existing setter, if present, is preserved.

__defineGetter__() is defined in the spec as "normative optional", which means no implementation is required to implement this. However, all major browsers implement it, and due to its continued usage, it's unlikely to be removed. If a browser implements __defineGetter__(), it also needs to implement the __defineSetter__() methods.

Examples

Using defineGetter()

const o = {};
o.__defineGetter__("gimmeFive", function () {
  return 5;
});
console.log(o.gimmeFive); / 5

Defining a getter property in standard ways

You can use the get syntax to define a getter when the object is first initialized.

const o = {
  get gimmeFive() {
    return 5;
  },
};
console.log(o.gimmeFive); / 5

You may also use null-prototype objects, which don't inherit from Object.prototype and therefore don't have the __defineGetter__() method.

const o = {};
Object.defineProperty(o, "gimmeFive", {
  get() {
    return 5;
  },
  configurable: true,
  enumerable: true,
});
console.log(o.gimmeFive); / 5

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript® 2026 Language Specification # sec-object.prototype.__defineGetter__