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.

Beyond individual experimentation, many consumer facing mental health chatbots are built by applying therapy related prompts to general purpose LLMs.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026

It comes after WhatsApp changed its business terms in October, excluding general purpose AI chatbots from its platform.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that more than 90% of general purpose credit card spending in 2019 occurred on rewards cards.

From Barron's • Nov. 10, 2025

It's what Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella described as the pathway for AI becoming a general purpose technology, like electricity or the internet.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2025

They tested a 66-pound, general purpose, hand-operated tool.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

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