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purpose
[ pur-puhs ]
/ ˈpɜr pəs /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
verb (used with object), pur·posed, pur·pos·ing.
verb (used without object), pur·posed, pur·pos·ing.
to have a purpose.
OTHER WORDS FOR purpose
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Idioms about purpose
on purpose, by design; intentionally: How could you do such a thing on purpose?
to the purpose, relevant; to the point: Her objections were not to the purpose.
Origin of purpose
First recorded in 1250–1300; (noun) Middle English purpos, from Old French, derivative of purposer, variant of proposer “to propose ”; (verb) Middle English purposen, from Anglo-French, Old French purposer
synonym study for purpose
1. See intention.
OTHER WORDS FROM purpose
pre·pur·pose, verb (used with object), pre·pur·posed, pre·pur·pos·ing.re·pur·pose, verb (used with object), re·pur·posed, re·pur·pos·ing.un·pur·posed, adjectiveun·pur·pos·ing, adjectiveWords nearby purpose
purple trillium, purplish, purport, purported, purportedly, purpose, purpose-built, purposeful, purposefully, purposeless, purposely
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use purpose in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for purpose
purpose
/ (ˈpɜːpəs) /
noun
verb (tr)
to intend or determine to do (something)
Word Origin for purpose
C13: from Old French porpos, from porposer to plan, from Latin prōpōnere to propose
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with purpose
purpose
see at cross purposes; for all intents and purposes; on purpose; serve a purpose; to good purpose; to little or no purpose.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.