purpose

pur|pose

W3S1 [ˈpə:pəs US ˈpə:r-] n

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1

2 purposes

3

4 on purpose

5¦(feeling)¦

6 for all practical purposes

7 serve its purpose

8 defeat the purpose

9 to no purpose

10 to the purpose

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: purpos, from purposer 'to intend', from Latin proponere; PROPOUND]

1.) [C usually singular]

the purpose of something is what it is intended to achieve

purpose of

▪ The purpose of this meeting is to elect a new chairman.

▪ What is the purpose of your visit?

the purpose of doing sth

▪ The purpose of conducting a business is to make money.

for/with the purpose of doing sth

▪ Troops were sent solely for the purpose of assisting refugees.

▪ He came here with the purpose of carrying out the attack.

sole/primary/main etc purpose

▪ The protection of children is the primary purpose of this legislation.

2.) purposes [plural]

the reasons that explain why something is needed or why it is considered in a particular way

▪ Several of the items had religious purposes .

for medical/political/decorative etc purposes

▪ It should be legitimate to use cannabis for medical purposes.

▪ For tax purposes , you will be treated as a married couple.

▪ The details are, for the present purposes , irrelevant.

for the purposes of sth

▪ For the purposes of this book, America is taken to include the continent north of Mexico.

3.)

a plan or aim

▪ Nick had no particular purpose in mind when he started.

sb's purpose in doing sth

▪ Attending the race was not my purpose in coming to Indianapolis.

serve a purpose

(=achieve a particular aim)

▪ It would serve no useful purpose to re-open the investigation.

4.) on purpose

deliberately

do sth on purpose

▪ You make it sound as if I did it on purpose!

5.) ¦(FEELING)¦[U]

a feeling of determination to achieve things in life

▪ It's so important to have a sense of purpose that underlies human happiness

▪ My football career was over and I had no purpose in life .

▪ He possessed great strength of purpose .

6.) for all practical purposes also to all intents and purposes

used to say that something is so close to the truth that it can be considered to be the truth

▪ The war, to all intents and purposes, was over.

▪ We have a Secretary of State for Scotland who is for all practical purposes a Scottish Prime Minister.

7.) serve its purpose

if something has served its purpose, it has done what you needed it to do

▪ We delete the data once it has served its purpose.

8.) defeat the purpose

to fail to achieve the result you want

▪ Anxiety will cause tension, which defeats the purpose of the exercise (=the activity or plan) .

9.) to no purpose

formal without any useful results

▪ She called after them, but to no purpose.

10.) to the purpose

old-fashioned useful or helpful

→↑purposely, ↑cross-purposes