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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.

See Examples For:

general-purpose

Legacy uses the same general-purpose machines available to other businesses willing to invest in the equipment, and no printers are marketed exclusively for Hollywood, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Fable 5, a general-purpose version of Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model that was also banned, remains restricted, and restrictions on Mythos 5 still apply to entities that aren’t trusted partners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

With AI, hyperscale customers who know exactly what they want can use Tan’s ASICs as a scalpel, rather than turn to the Swiss Army knife of Nvidia’s general-purpose chips.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

The EU said it began its investigation, in December 2025, after Meta banned third-party general-purpose AI assistants from the WhatsApp for Business API.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

The White Spine is the leading general-purpose variety.

From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by Bailey, L. H. (Liberty Hyde)

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