恋物即以某些特定的无生命物体或人体部位作为性欲对象，由该物体或部位获得性激励，或通过某个生殖器以外的、通常与性活动无直接关系的具体对象而得到性兴奋和性满足的一种性现象。英文Sexual fetishism一词源于fetishism（盲目崇拜），即认为某一物具有超自然力，比如在马克思主义中，术语fetishism就被用来指人们对物质的崇拜迷恋。单纯喜欢物品而没有对它有强烈的性欲，并不是恋物者。

更广义的恋物还可以包括由某种抽象的概念或某种状况、情形而获得性激励的情况。之所以会有恋「物」的说法，是因为传统上讨论性欲的理论假定了人类性欲激发的来源应该是另外一名「人类」，而在作为主体的「人」以外的外在环境、物品、情境、对象，皆被称为「物」的关系。

Sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism is a sexual focus on a nonliving object or nongenital body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish for that object is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regarded as a non-pathological aid to sexual excitement, or as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life. Sexual arousal from a particular body part can be further classified as partialism.