on purpose

Idioms  

1. Deliberately, intentionally, as in He left the photo out of the story on purpose . Shakespeare's use of this idiom was among the earliest; it appears in The Comedy of Errors (4:3): “On purpose shut the doors against his way.”

2. accidentally on purpose . Seemingly accidentally but actually deliberately, as in She stepped on his foot accidentally on purpose . This generally jocular phrase was first recorded in 1862.

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Example Sentences

That also means Mom took a taxi home from the airport on purpose, just to avoid the FBI.

From Literature

There was only one thing Danny believed in more than magic, and it was that Pili loved him and would never have left him alone on purpose.

From Literature

Once you see “special” as something you can make on purpose, it stops feeling rare or fragile.

From Salon

Etta, now pregnant, had an endless supply of things for me to fix, though sometimes I suspected she was ripping seams and popping buttons on purpose just to give my old hands something to do.

From Literature

“But it was an accident, right? Leo doesn’t seem the type to do that on purpose.”

From Literature