all-purpose
[awl-pur-puh s]
- for every purpose: an all-purpose detergent.
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Origin of all-purpose
First recorded in 1925–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for all-purpose
Contemporary Examples
Or maybe we are just whiny wimps, an all-purpose explanation for every descent-of-man phenomenon that never is far off the mark.
This all-purpose response would also allow one to deny that there is a missing Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777.
But the pope thought of him more as an all-purpose authority on anything scientific or technical.
But college is not like some sort of all-purpose herbal supplement that cures bunions and also colic; it teaches specific skills.
He had hanged himself with 550 cord, an all-purpose green string that looks like a shoelace and can hold 550 pounds.
Historical Examples
They were sitting in All-Purpose Lounges, arranged in a circle.
SubjectivityNorman Spinrad
The carabao, or water buffalo, is the one all-purpose farm animal.
The Old World and Its WaysWilliam Jennings Bryan
It would be nice if we could report that they are fit for all-purpose service, on a wide range of planets.
The HuntersWilliam Morrison
Runkel's All-Purpose Cocoa is the finest quality chocolate, already a powder, all ready to use!
Mrs. Wilson's Cook BookMary A. Wilson
An all-purpose goat's milk, Parmesan type, eaten sliced when young, grated when old.
The Complete Book of CheeseRobert Carlton Brown
all-purpose
- useful for many things
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for all-purpose
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper