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

Venegas is now adding her voice to this shared-but-fractured written history; albeit, not entirely on purpose.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

“All the conveyor belts are broken,” said Suzy Welch, a management professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, at a recent symposium on purpose and flourishing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

"Socially I can be very awkward – not on purpose – but when it comes to football, I'm really open and happy," he says.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 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

But Danny didn’t think that was how boys were supposed to act, and there was nothing fun about hurting someone on purpose.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova