general-purpose

American

[jen-er-uhl-pur-puhs] / ˈdʒɛn ər əlˈpɜr pəs /

adjective

useful in many ways; not limited in use or function.

a good general-purpose dictionary.

general-purpose British

adjective

having a range of uses or applications; not restricted to one function

"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

Etymology

Origin of general-purpose

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

In December, the Silicon Valley giant bought another AI firm called Manus, a Chinese-founded company that builds general-purpose bots.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

If human intelligence depends on system-level organization rather than a single general-purpose mechanism, then building artificial general intelligence may require more than simply scaling up specialized tools.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

All you need to start vibe coding is a general-purpose AI platform like ChatGPT or Gemini.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

“This combination makes it especially difficult for general-purpose AI to disrupt,” they said.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

Emacs is an excellent choice for new users interested in a general-purpose or programming editor.

From Debian GNU/Linux : Guide to Installation and Usage by Goerzen, John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023