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.
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
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
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, adjective un·pur·pos·ing, adjectiveWords nearby purpose
purple-fringed orchid,
purpleheart,
purplish,
purport,
purported,
purpose,
purpose-built,
purposeful,
purposeless,
purposely,
purposive
British Dictionary definitions for on 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
Idioms and Phrases with on purpose (1 of 2)
on purpose
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.”
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.
Idioms and Phrases with on purpose (2 of 2)
purpose
see at cross purposes; for all intents and purposes; on purpose; serve a purpose; to good purpose; to little or no purpose.