Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal: "And ever those, who would enjoyment gain/Must find it in the purpose they pursue” ( Sarah Josepha Hale).
- n. A result or effect that is intended or desired; an intention. See Synonyms at intention.
- n. Determination; resolution: He was a man of purpose.
- n. The matter at hand; the point at issue.
- v. To intend or resolve to perform or accomplish.
- idiom. on purpose Intentionally; deliberately.
- idiom. to good purpose With good results.
- idiom. little With few or no results.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To propose; intend; design; mean: generally with an infinitive.
- To resolve; determine, or determine on.
- Synonyms To mean, meditate.
- To have intention or design; intend; mean.
- To discourse.
- n. A thing proposed or intended; an object to be kept in view or subserved in any operation or course of action; end proposed; aim.
- n. Proposition; proposal; point to be considered or acted upon.
- n. Hence Intended or desired effect; practical advantage or result; use; subject or matter in hand; question at issue: as, to speak to the purpose.
- n. Intention; design; resolve; resolution; determination.
- n. Import; meaning: purport; intent.
- n. Discourse; conversation.
- n. Instance; example.
- n. plural A sort of conversational game. Compare cross-purpose, 2.
- n. A dance resembling a cotillion, a characteristic feature of which was the introduction of confidential or coquettish conversation.
- n. In biology, the result which a structure tends to secure, without any reference to an intelligent agent.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
- v. transitive (passive) Designed for some purpose.
- v. obsolete, intransitive To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
- n. An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
- n. A result that is desired; an intention.
- n. The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
- n. The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
- n. The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. That which a person sets before himself as an object to be reached or accomplished; the end or aim to which the view is directed in any plan, measure, or exertion; view; aim; design; intention; plan.
- n. obsolete Proposal to another; discourse.
- n. obsolete Instance; example.
- v. obsolete To set forth; to bring forward.
- v. To propose, as an aim, to one's self; to determine upon, as some end or object to be accomplished; to intend; to design; to resolve; -- often followed by an infinitive or dependent clause.
- v. obsolete To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
- v. propose or intend
- v. reach a decision
- n. what something is used for
- n. the quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose
Etymologies
- From Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer ("to propose"), from Latin prō ("forth") + pausāre, present active infinitive of pausō ("halt, cease, pause"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English purpos, from Anglo-Norman, from purposer, to intend : pur-, forth (from Latin prō-; see pro-1) + poser, to put; see pose1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Their first argument is that the very consideration of purpose is deceptive: according to them, true purpose is unknowable, and its search merely an excuse for courts to act selectively and unpredictably in picking out evidence of subjective intent.”
McCreary Ruling Good News for Science Education - The Panda's Thumb
“He had seemed to love it little in the years when every penny had its purpose for him; for he loved the _purpose_ then.”
“Not that I mean to say, that I always began to write with a distinct purpose formally conceived; but I believe that my habits of meditation have so formed my feelings, as that my descriptions of such objects as strongly excite those feelings, will be found to carry along with them a _purpose_.”
“Not that I always began to write with a distinct purpose formerly conceived; but habits of meditation have, I trust, so prompted and regulated my feelings, that my descriptions of such objects as strongly excite those feelings, will be found to carry along with them a _purpose_.”
Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations
“Its main purpose is to make tons and tons of money and get big advertising sponsors.”
“But the IOC has proven that its main purpose is not to promote sports and fun and national competition.”
“I was checking the job listings on the site and they're main purpose is for short films/television specials including pre-existing Pixar characters.”
Pixar’s Dinosaur Project is… a Discovery Channel TV Special? | /Film
“But the main purpose is to increase accountability.”
The Guardian: Government's 'bonfire of the quangos' plan will cost as much as it saves
“The main purpose is about greatly advancing the ideological goal of nationalizing the American economy.”
“Their main purpose is making money regardless how unethical or immoral their acts will impact the society at large.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘purpose’.
-
IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
-
RELI - words with Biblical connotations
Words in the Bible evoking biblical stories or with special spiritual meaning. Proper names have been reduced to the minimum.
ark, judgement, holy, saint, baptism, spirit, love, eternal, altar, balsam, covenant, flood and 1115 more...
-
Tristram Shandy
souse, meet, sententious, propound, boot, casuistry, avoirdupois, akimbo, disport, lenity, succussation, sweetbread and 158 more...
-
POL - campaign tokenisms
Positive words and vague promises. THE words and expressions to use when you want to win over the masses or just don't know what to say.
"CAPITAL" stands for the administrative capital...21st century, a high level of a..., a long way, a long way to go, a lot to be done, a lot to do, achievement, action, action plan, action team, actual implementa..., advantage and 751 more...
-
EU Buzz - Lisbon Treaty
All words of the Lisbon Treaty
(Persons' names, foreign and grammatical words have been eliminated, MWEs have been split up into individual words. Capitalization has been retained if r...health, follow, condition, meeting, minister, beginning, chapter, information, language, remain, covered, respect and 2614 more...
-
EU Buzz - single words (1+2+3)
1. Strictly EU terms with special European meaning used only in the EU
+
2. Keywords central to the understanding of the EU (people working for the EU are usually able to give thematic...acceleration, action, additionality, administrator, agenda, agricultural, agri-environmental, agriflation, agri-food, applicant, approach, assent and 1325 more...
-
Various words
Words that some students had difficulty pronouncing.
components, corruption, culture, development, diversify, dreams, engineering, essential, establish, focus, hierarchy, identify and 13 more...
-
The Enterprise
enterprise, gameplan, goal, gimmick, intendment of int..., lay of the land, machination, notions, object, objectives, pitch, picture and 54 more...
-
Rhetoric: The Harlot of the Arts
Words to do with rhetoric--study of, history of, practice of, theory of
rhetoric, paralepsis, invention, arrangement, style, memory, delivery, copia, consubstantiation, trope, colon, tricolon and 56 more...
-
necessities, amenities and priorities
( personal list )
water, food, nutrients, shelter, purpose, clothing, internet, entertainment, phone, vehicle, sex, education and 2 more...
-
no little thing
it bothers me when i hear someone who have experienced something life changing use the phrase: now i appreciate the little things. I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE ANY LITTLE THINGS. everything is EXTRAOR...
letters, living, understand, narrow, behavior, personal, need, meant, untamed, world, soldier, 'cause and 241 more...
-
factors
-
Holli
Cancer, Mercury, water, moon, dark, emotion, nostalgia, angst, brooding, isolation, shadow, corner and 145 more...
-
eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
-
The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
-
The Most Beautiful Words in the Engli...
mellifluous, obscure, star-crossed, undulating, solstice, messiah, audacious, solace, twilight, wanderlust, lovelorn, byzantine and 219 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for purpose.

writer723 the point of ones life. a reason one gives for being and continuing in this life. if there is no purpose or meaning than what is the point of life. is it necessary to have purpose in order to want to stay alive? May 2, 2011
pterodactyl There's something strange and troubling about this word. In modern usage, "purpose" is a noun, and yet it take affixes as if it were some other part of speech.
Example 1: "Purposely". The suffix "-ly" is supposed to take an adjective and turn it into an adverb. But "purpose" is not an adjective.
Example 2: "Repurpose". The prefix "re-" is supposed to take a verb and turn it into another verb. But "purpose" is not a verb.
This is really creepy. "Purpose" is some kind of uncanny monster. I'm getting the cold shivers just thinking about it. Jun 21, 2009