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

He says the creators are being "controversial on purpose" to generate more views, making him think it's "all a scheme" to make money.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

“Whenever you tell an old story, you change it, sometimes on purpose and sometimes in ways you don’t exactly control,” he writes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

NBA teams are increasingly losing games on purpose to improve their draft prospects and basketball must consider every possible remedy to stamp out deliberate "tanking," the league's chief said Saturday.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

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

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2026

"Mr. Johnson has the key to the pen's gate. He could be letting Buttons out on purpose."

From "Pony Problems: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #3" by Carolyn Keene