on purpose

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.

Example Sentences

The yips got so bad that she would occasionally miss putts by 20 feet on purpose because she knew she had no chance if she left them too close to the hole.

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Baseball has dealt with “spot-fixing,” where a pitcher might throw a single ball on purpose instead of a strike.

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Wills can be destroyed or mislaid, accidentally on purpose; beneficiary designations are the purview of the financial institution in question.

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Negotiators knew from the outset that recovering the bodies would be difficult amid the rubble of war-ravaged Gaza, but Israeli officials say Hamas is delaying on purpose to keep what little leverage it has left.

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It appears to lack details and in some cases is vague and ambiguous - perhaps on purpose.

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