purpose en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈpʊː(ɹ)pəs/ Dublin
- /ˈpɜː.pəs/ (Australia)
- /ˈpɜ.poʊs/ (Hong-Kong, proscribed)
- /ˈpøː.pəs/ (New-Zealand)
- /ˈpɝ.pəs/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈpɜː.pəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈpɜ.pəs/ (Hong-Kong)
- (Southern-England) audio
- (California) audio
Etymology
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”).
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) The end for which something is done, is made or exists.
In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6:The device can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
What is the purpose of your visit?
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(countable, uncountable) Function, role.
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: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 food
1846, William Benjamin Carpenter, Elements of Physiology: Including Physiological Anatomy, for the Use of the Medical Student, page 281: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:The exceptionally small gate-leg table served the purpose of a tea table admirably.
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(countable, qualifier:Sense of having a, uncountable) meaning for existing or doing something.
A sense of belonging helps to ground the individual by providing a particular way of being in the world which, in turn, helps individuals to make meaning of their life experiences and gives them a sense of purpose, including a sense of responsibility to the group to which one belongs.
2016 January 8, Marian de Souza, Spirituality in Education in a Global, Pluralised World, Routledge, →ISBN: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:He wanted her to know that she gave him purpose, gave him the will to live after he lost Kaylah. He wanted her to know that, no, the diamond wasn't precious enough to symbolize how much he cherished her breath,[…]
2021 August 13, O. Curtis Jackson, TEN TIMES OVER, Writers Republic LLC, →ISBN:
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(countable, uncountable) Resolution; determination.
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:United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
2013 September 1, Phil McNulty, BBC Sport:[…]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 ſuſpition, no doubt to their equall ioy and contentment.
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 Iaggard, Nouell 8, The Eighth Day:Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.
2013 July-August, Sarah Glaz, “Ode to Prime Numbers”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
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(countable, obsolete, uncountable) The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
The duke was restless and thoughtful the whole evening, often changed the discourse; like an absent man; and abruptly, quite from the purpose; asked the marshal, "If in his military expeditions, he had ever undertaken any affair of consequence in the night."
1770, Christof Hermann von Manstein, Memoirs of Russia, Historical, Political and Military, from the Year MDCCXXVII to MDCCXLIV, page 267:But now, forasmuch as you have stopt up a few shards in these your last tedious commentaries, though very hardly and quite from the purpose, […]
1817, Legh Richmond, A Selection from the Writings of the Reformers and Early Protestant Divines of the Church of England, page 296:[…]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, scene iii]: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 Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 151:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| purposes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
general-purpose · subpurpose · multipurpose · special-purpose vehicle · for all intents and purposes · apurpose · purpositive · forepurpose · the purpose of a system is what it does · special-purpose · all-purpose · dual-purpose · purpose-made · unpurpose · infinitive of purpose · special-purpose entity · game with a purpose · all-purpose flour · dispurpose · to the purpose · defeat the purpose · purposeless · cross purpose · purpose-built · purposeful · purpose-like · purposely · purpose statement · fit for purpose · purposive · purpose clause · purpose loan · dative of purpose · multi-purpose · mispurpose · to no purpose · repurpose · by-purpose · cross-purpose · on purpose · purposelike
Hyponyms
Synonyms
intention (determination) · meaning · resolution (determination) · matter (subject of discourse) · end · target · intention · aim (end) · goal · object · determination (determination) · subject (subject of discourse) · point · aim (intention) · plan · reason for doing something · topic (subject of discourse)
Translations (281)
nl reden (reason for doing something) · it soggetto (subject of discourse) · he מוֹטִיבַצְיָה (reason for doing something) · yi צוועק (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ro motiv (reason for doing something) · he כוונה \ כַּוָּנָה (intention) · az məqsəd (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · es propósito (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · mi aronga (reason for doing something) · aln psehe (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · fa-ira هَدَف (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · fi aihe (subject of discourse) · ms tujuan (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · zza sebeb (reason for doing something) · ba маҡсат (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ru моти́в (reason for doing something) · hi मक़सद (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · fr intention (intention) · tg нишон (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ja 目的 (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · cs záměr (intention) · cs úmysl (intention) · sq sunim (intention) · hi चाह (intention) · pl cel (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hu eltökéltség (determination) · ro cauză (reason for doing something) · ru упо́рство (determination) · ro țel (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sh nȃmera (intention) · yi ציל (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sv avsikt (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · fi määrätietoisuus (determination) · nl nut (reason for doing something) · cmn 目的 (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · it intento (intention) · sv mening (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · uz maqsad (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · el πρόθεση (intention) · ja 目標 (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · it argomento (subject of discourse) · ro obiectiv (intention) · ko 론점 (subject of discourse) · pt propósito (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ko 의도 (intention) · cmn 意圖 /意图 (intention) · nl intentie (intention) · da mening (intention) · uk ціль (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · uk на́мір (reason for doing something) · it proposito (reason for doing something) · th วัตถุประสงค์ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · kk мақсат (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · zdj makswada (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hu céltudatosság (determination) · ta நோக்கம் (intention) · tg мақсад (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · zza ezm (determination) · de Absicht (intention) · la propositum (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · cmn 目標 /目标 (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · mk намера (intention) · ar سَبَب (reason for doing something) · zza qetiyen (determination) · fr sujet (subject of discourse) · be мэ́та (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hi अभिप्राय (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · gd rùn (intention) · fr propos (subject of discourse) · it intenzione (intention) · ru цель (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · pt objetivo (intention) · ur ہَدَف (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · es resolución (determination) · la propositum (reason for doing something) · sh nȃmjera (determination) · sh на̑мјера (intention) · ky максат (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · es propósito (intention) · hi हदफ़ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sh nȃmjera (intention) · he נְחִישׁוּת (determination) · ro determinare (determination) · it risoluzione (determination) · es razón (reason for doing something) · sh на̑мера (intention) · cmn 意向 (intention) · ko 결심 (determination) · el αιτία (reason for doing something) · el στόχος (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ja 意向 (intention) · bg цел (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sk cieľ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · tr amaç (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sk zámer (intention) · it proposito (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · bg реши́телност (determination) · hi कामना (intention) · az səbat (determination) · it determinazione (determination) · yi צוועק (intention) · ro scop (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · be заме́р (intention) · pt propósito (intention) · es intención (intention) · sq arsye (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · lv nolūks (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sv kall (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · nb mål (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ota غایه (intention) · ca intenció (intention) · fr but (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sl cilj (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · mg antony (reason for doing something) · sk účel (intention) · ar مَقْصِد (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · zza meqsed (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · mk цел (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · da grund (reason for doing something) · de Ziel (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ko 목표 (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ta குறிக்கோள் (intention) · sl namen (intention) · ko 결의 (determination) · is tilgangur (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sl namen (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · pl powód (reason for doing something) · es objeto (reason for doing something) · et eesmärk (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · nl bedoeling (intention) · de Grund (reason for doing something) · ro intenție (intention) · ko 논지 (subject of discourse) · nl bedoeling (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ko 목적 (reason for doing something) · es tema (subject of discourse) · sa अर्थ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · pl zagadnienie (subject of discourse) · sv mening (intention) · hu cél (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ota مقصد (intention) · ca propòsit (intention) · fi tarkoitus (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ps مقصد (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · km គោលបំណង (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · got 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · es decisión (determination) · bn মকসদ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sk účel (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · uk мета́ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · fr détermination (determination) · nl strekking (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · pt propósito (reason for doing something) · hu elszántság (determination) · ka მიზანი (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · he נוֹשֵׂא (subject of discourse) · vi mục đích (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sv mening (determination) · ug مەقسەت (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · tr maksat (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · cs účel (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hy նպատակ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ro țintă (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · pl temat (subject of discourse) · ru предназначе́ние (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · he מַטָּרָה (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · de Zweck (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · bg намере́ние (intention) · sh свр̀ха (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hu értelem (reason for doing something) · zza niyet (intention) · id tujuan (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · pl intencja (intention) · tg ҳадаф (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ro subiect (subject of discourse) · ru цель (reason for doing something) · ota هدف (intention) · it finalità (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · nl reden (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · tr hedef (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · is meining (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · uk на́мір (intention) · hi इच्छा (intention) · hu szándék (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hi निशाना (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ko 목적 (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hi संकल्पित (determination) · da mål (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · eo celo (reason for doing something) · mg fikasana (intention) · fr objectif (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · el λόγος (reason for doing something) · ur مَقْصَد (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ar غَايَة (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · uz hadaf (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · grc δῐᾰ́νοιᾰ (intention) · da intention (intention) · it obiettivo (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · es objetivo (intention) · fi tarkoitus (intention) · ro rost (reason for doing something) · ru реши́мость (determination) · az əzm (determination) · az qətiyyət (determination) · it decisione (determination) · ps هدف (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · az niyyət (intention) · ko 의도 (reason for doing something) · sh cȋlj (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ru те́ма (subject of discourse) · ce ойла (intention) · pt intenção (intention) · th เป้าหมาย (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · be наме́р (intention) · nl doel (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · es objeto (subject of discourse) · hi लक्ष्य (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · nl zin (reason for doing something) · gd rùn (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · de Thema (subject of discourse) · ja 意図 (intention) · ro rost (intention) · la propositum (intention) · el σκοπός (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sq qëllim (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sv avsikt (intention) · ba ниәт (intention) · grc πρόθεσις (intention) · ga cuspóir (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hu szándék (intention) · pl zamiar (determination) · fa-ira مَقْصَد (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sh ци̑љ (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · mg tanjona (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sh на̑мера (determination) · gd rùn (determination) · nl vastberadenheid (determination) · mi koronga (intention) · et otstarve (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · es propósito (reason for doing something) · sh на̑мјера (determination) · de Intention (intention) · ro rost (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · be цэль (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · zza tema (diq) (subject of discourse) · ru причи́на (reason for doing something) · sh nȃmera (determination) · ta குறிக்கோள் (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ta நோக்கம் (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · cs cíl (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ko 논점 (subject of discourse) · ru реши́тельность (determination) · ko 론지 (subject of discourse) · ru наме́рение (intention) · fi päättäväisyys (determination) · el σκοπός (intention) · mi hoaketanga (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ar مَقْصَد (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · hi लक्षित (determination) · ca propòsit (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · vi mục tiêu (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · fa-ira نِشان (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · fi syy (reason for doing something) · eo intenco (intention) · es determinación (determination) · ar نِيَّة (intention) · nl opzet (intention) · ro temă (subject of discourse) · ko 목적 (intention) · tt максат (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ar هَدَف (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · uz nishon (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · he סיבה \ סִבָּה (reason for doing something) · bg моти́в (reason for doing something) · it scopo (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · tk maksat (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · sh svr̀ha (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · lt tikslas (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · nl nut (end for which something is done, is made or exists) · ko 논쟁점 (subject of discourse) · zza pêrpus (end for which something is done, is made or exists)