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.
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For All “Intents and Purposes” vs. “Intensive Purposes”Both for all intents and purposes and for all intensive purposes are widely used to mean “for all practical purposes” or “virtually.” But which one is correct? The standard idiom is for all intents and purposes, not for all intensive purposes, though if you were to say these two forms out loud it might be hard to tell the difference between the two. For all …
Nearby words
purpleheart, purplish, purport, purported, purportedly, purpose, purpose-built, purposeful, purposeless, purposely, purposive
Idioms
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
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English purpos < Old French, derivative of purposer, variant of proposer to propose; (v.) Middle English purposen < Anglo-French, Old French purposer
SYNONYMS FOR purpose
Related formspre·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, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for purposed
British Dictionary definitions for purposed
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 purposed
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.