Is the term "animate object" still used?

Is the term "animate object" still acceptable to use, for example for a grasshopper? I remember objects being broken down into either animate objects or inanimate objects back when I was in school but I don't see much use of the term "animate object" anymore. It seems to have been replaced by "living thing" (perhaps to avoid alluding to animals and people as objects). But grammatically, would it be acceptable/accurate to refer to a grasshopper as an object (i.e. an animate object)?

Solution 1:

Google Ngrams shows that "living thing" is far more common than "animate object". I don't think I've ever heard someone use the latter phrase, but "inanimate object" is common.