Purpose Definition
purpose
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English
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈpɜː(ɹ)pəs/, SAMPA: /"p3rp@s/
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Audio (US) (file)
Etymology 1
From Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer (“to propose”), from Latin prō (“forth”) + pausāre, present active infinitive of pausō (“halt, cease, pause”).
Noun
purpose (plural purposes)
- An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
- A result that is desired; an intention.
- The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
- The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
- The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
Synonyms
- (target): aim, goal, object, target
- (intention): aim, plan, intention
- (determination): determination, intention, resolution
- (subject of discourse): matter, subject, topic
- (reason for doing something): reason
- See also Wikisaurus:goal
Derived terms
terms derived from purpose
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Translations
target
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to be checked
- German: Zweck m.
Etymology 2
From Middle English purposen, from Old French purposer (“to propose”)
Verb
purpose (third-person singular simple present purposes, present participle purposing, simple past and past participle purposed)
- (transitive) Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
- (transitive) (passive) Designed for some purpose.
Derived terms
Synonyms
Translations
have set as one's purpose; intend
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References
- “purpose” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- “purpose” in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
- "purpose" in WordNet 3.0, Princeton University, 2006.
Statistics
- Most common English words before 1923: position · copy · opened · #543: purpose · fall · pass · doing
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FOXNews Busch marched with purpose into victory lane to do some active finger-pointing and arguing with Bodine. On Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, ...
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It is possible that an intentional act may have multiple purposes, only one of which is a primary intention while the remainder are secondary intentions. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purpose
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