purpose
/ˈpɜː.pəs//ˈpɝ.pəs/
purpose noun: the end for which something is done, is made or exists.
Noun
purpose (countable and uncountable, plural purposes)
- The end for which something is done, is made or exists.
- What is the purpose of your visit?
- The device can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
- Function, role.
- The exceptionally small gate-leg table served the purpose of a tea table admirably.
- The purpose of the gall-bladder is obviously to permit the accumulation of bile, when it is not wanted in the intestine; and we find it most constantly present in those tribes of animals, which live upon animal food1846, William Benjamin Carpenter, Elements of Physiology: Including Physiological Anatomy, for the Use of the Medical Student, page 281
- meaning for existing or doing something.
- Before being hospitalized, Thea filled her days with work that gave her life purpose. Whether it was teaching, writing, or investing in relationships, Thea was busily and actively engaged in activity that she could feel good about.2011 October 1, Sarah Jobe, Creating with God: The Holy Confusing Blessedness of Being Pregnant, Paraclete Press, →ISBN
- This place gave him purpose, gave him joy. It was both his life and his lifeline and she was both thrilled and relieved that he'd recovered enough to be able to maintain the place.2015, Donna Kauffman, Snowflake Bay, Zebra Books, →ISBN, page 338
- Synonyms:
- meaning
- Resolution; determination.
- […]purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee being the ſtronger perſwader, and ſhe (belike) too credulous in beleeuing or elſe ouer-feeble in reſiſting, from priuate imparlance, they fell to action; and continued their cloſe fight a long while together, vnſeene and vvithout...1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, translated by John Florio, The Decameron, Containing an Hundred Pleaſant Nouels: Wittily Diſcourſed, Betweene Seuen Honourable Ladies, and Three Noble Gentlemen, Isaac...
- Perhaps you have heard that there was once some purpose of marriage between the Duc de Joyeuse and myself; it is of that which I have to tell.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 190
- Synonyms:
- determination, intention, resolution
- The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
- […]he was woont to ſpeake plaine, and to the purpoſe (like an honeſt man and a ſouldier) […]1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, Much Adoe about Nothing. […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II...
- The speech he made was so little to the purpose, that I shall not trouble my Readers with an account of it; and I believe was not so much designed by the Knight himself to inform the Court, as to give him a figure in my eye[…]1711 July 30 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “THURSDAY, July 20, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 122; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New...
Verb
purpose (third-person singular simple present purposes, present participle purposing, simple past and past participle purposed)
- To have or set as one's purpose or aim; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
- 1485 – Thomas Malory. Le Morte Darthur, Book X, Chapter xxxvi, leaf 235v
Soo was Alysander purposed to ryde to london by the coūceille of sire Tristram to syre Launcelot /
"So was Alisander purposed to ride to London, by the counsel of Sir Tristram, to Sir Launcelot." - Our gracious Ancestors, however, purposed Nothing, against these their ancient and implacable Enemies, save what was necessary and indispensable, with respect to their own Preservation.1761, Henry Brooke, The Tryal of the Roman Catholics of Ireland, page 139
- 1485 – Thomas Malory. Le Morte Darthur, Book X, Chapter xxxvi, leaf 235v
- To have (an) intention, purpose, or design; to intend; to mean.
- Upon my ſoul, / You may beleeve him: nor did he ere purpoſe / To me but nobly;[…]1622 May 24 (licensing date; Gregorian calendar), John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Prophetesse”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […]...
- Synonyms:
- intend
- To discourse.
- Whom ouertaking, ſhe in merry ſort
Them gan to bord, and purpoſe diuerſly,[…]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 366 - Wherein, as yee heape vp the names of a number of men not vnworthy to bee had in honour; ſo there are a number whom when yee mention, although it ſerue yee to purpoſe with the ignorant and vulgar ſort, who meaſure by tale and not by waight, yet ſurely they who know what qualitie and value the men...[1594], Richard Hooker, “A Preface to Them that Seeke (as They Tearme It) the Reformation of Lawes and Orders Ecclesiasticall, in the Church of England”, in J[ohn] S[penser], editor, Of the Lawes of...
- Whom ouertaking, ſhe in merry ſort
purpose meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
purpose in Hindi
- intention
- इच्छा icchā, चाह cāh, कामना kāmnā
- end for which something is done, is made or exists
- अभिप्राय abhiprāy, मक़सद maqsad, हदफ़ hadaf, निशाना niśānā, लक्ष्य lakṣya
- determination
- संकल्पित saṅkalpit, लक्षित lakṣit
purpose in Tamil
- intention
- குறிக்கோள் kuṟikkōḷ, நோக்கம் nōkkam
- end for which something is done, is made or exists
- நோக்கம் nōkkam, குறிக்கோள் kuṟikkōḷ
purpose in Marathi
- purpose, aim
- प्रयोजन prayojan
- purpose, intention
- उद्देश uddeś
purpose in Urdu
- end for which something is done, is made or exists
- مَقْصَد maqsad, ہَدَف hadaf
More languagesFewer languages
- purpose in Bengali
- মকসদ mokśod
- purpose in Telugu
- ఉద్దేశం, ఉద్దేశ్యం
- purpose in Malayalam
- ഉദ്ദേശ്യം uddēśyaṁ, ഉപയോഗം upayōgaṁ
- purpose in Kannada
- ಈಡು, ಅಳಬು, ಉದ್ದೇಶ, ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ
- purpose in Punjabi
- ਕਾਜ kāj, ਅਰਥ arath
- purpose in Gujarati
- કાજ kāj
- purpose in Odia
- ଉଦ୍ଦେଶ୍ଯ଼
- purpose in Sanskrit
- अर्थ artha
- purpose in Nepali
- उद्देश्य
- purpose in Pashto
- هدف hadáf, مقصد maqsád
- purpose in Arabic
- نِيَّة niyya, هَدَف hadaf, مَقْصِد maqṣid, مَقْصَد maqṣad
- purpose in Malay
- tujuan
- purpose in Indonesian
- tujuan
- purpose in Thai
- วัตถุประสงค์ wát-tù-bprà-sǒng, เป้าหมาย bpâo-mǎai
- purpose in Vietnamese
- mục tiêu, mục đích
Examples of purpose in a sentence
- As with all life forms, the sole purpose of a virus is to ensure reproduction in kind.1982, Lloyd C. Olson, Virus Infections: Modern Concepts and Status, volume 49, page 2:
- Is it the purpose of mosquitoes to ultimately provide calories to large birds of prey?2009, John Kricher, The Balance of Nature: Ecology's Enduring Myth, page 18:
- The purpose of the dance is to attract attention to the returning worker bee so she can share the odor of the nectar with other workers who will then follow the odor trail to the source.2011, Stephen Denning, The Secret Language of Leadership, page 254:
- Furthermore, since the purpose of DNA is to translate to proteins, a valid solution on its origin needs to describe the mechanism by which the complementary base pairs map to amino acids.2020, Charles Schaper, Design of DNA, Genetic Codes, and Life Function, page 4:
Synonyms of purpose
8 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of purpose
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | purposes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | purposes |
| present participle | purposing |
| past participle | purposed |
| past | purposed |
Origin of purpose
From Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer (“to propose”) (with conjugation altered based on poser), from Latin prō- (“forth”) + pōnere (“place, put”), hence Latin prōpōnō, prōpōnere. By surface analysis, pur- + pose (“halt, pause, put, place”).
From Middle English purposen, from Old French purposer (“to propose”).
Words formed from purpose
- all-purpose
- all-purpose flour
- apurpose
- by-purpose
- cross-purpose
- cross purpose
- dative of purpose
- defeat the purpose
- dispurpose
- dual-purpose
- fit for purpose
- for all intents and purposes
- forepurpose
- game with a purpose
- general-purpose
- infinitive of purpose
- mispurpose
- multi-purpose
- multipurpose
- purpose-built
- purpose clause
- purposeful
- purposeless
- purposelike
- purpose-like
- purpose loan
- purposely
- purpose-made
- purpose statement
- purpositive
- repurpose
- special-purpose
- special-purpose entity
- special-purpose vehicle
- subpurpose
- the purpose of a system is what it does
- to no purpose
- to the purpose
- unpurpose
- on purpose
- purposive
- purposed
- purposer
Phrases with purpose
Questions about purpose
- What does purpose mean?
- Purpose means the end for which something is done, is made or exists.
- What is purpose in Hindi?
- Purpose in Hindi is इच्छा (icchā), चाह (cāh), कामना (kāmnā). See Purpose meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use purpose in a sentence?
- As with all life forms, the sole purpose of a virus is to ensure reproduction in kind.
- What part of speech is purpose?
- Purpose can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce purpose?
- Purpose is pronounced /ˈpɜː.pəs/ (UK).
- What is the plural of purpose?
- The plural of purpose is purposes.
Words near purpose in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: purpose (page history and authors); उद्देश (Marathi) (page history and authors); purpose (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ഉദ്ദേശ്യം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); purpose (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਅਰਥ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); કાજ (Gujarati) (page history and authors); purpose (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purpose (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
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Cite this entry: “purpose.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/purpose. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.