purpose
[ pur-puhs ]
/ ˈpɜr pəs /
noun
verb (used with object), pur·posed, pur·pos·ing.
verb (used without object), pur·posed, pur·pos·ing.
to have a purpose.
SYNONYMS FOR purpose
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Idioms for 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, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for purpose
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
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.