A kind of method, available in Some object-oriented programming languageS, that operateS on the claSS aS a whole, aS oppoSed to an "object method" that operateS on an object that iS an inStance of the claSS. A typical example of a claSS method would be one that keepS a count of the number of objectS of that claSS that have been created. (2000-03-22)