all-purpose
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of all-purpose
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Eventually, Chase became an all-purpose filmmaker—actor, director, supervisor, architect of the “Our Gang” series in its earliest incarnation, and master of every department at once.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Then I come back in with a second pass: an all-purpose spray.
From Salon ● May 5, 2026
He also caught a touchdown pass in the game while accumulating 232 all-purpose yards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
The new all-purpose councils - known as unitary authorities - are due to take effect in 2028 for a county of 1.9 million people.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Once the all-purpose solution, Washington was now the still-potent problem, a kind of Trojan horse planted squarely in the Virginia fortress.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
