purse

purse¹ S3 [pə:s US pə:rs] n

[Date: 1200-1300; : Late Latin; Origin: bursa; BURSAR]

1.)

a) especially BrE a small bag in which women keep paper money, coins, cards etc

American Equivalent: wallet

▪ Julie opened her handbag and took out her purse.

b) also change purse, coin purse AmE

a small bag used to hold coins, used especially by women

2.) AmE

a bag in which a woman carries her money and personal things

British Equivalent: handbag

▪ I locked the door and dropped the keys in my purse.

3.) [singular] formal

the amount of money that a person, organization, or country has available to spend

▪ Election expenses are met from the public purse (=money controlled by the government) .

▪ A visit to the new county museum will set the family purse back by around £12.

4.)

the amount of money given to someone who wins a sports event, such as a ↑boxing match or a car race

▪ They will compete for a $100,000 purse.

5.) the purse strings

used to refer to the control of spending in a family, company, country etc

hold/control the purse strings

▪ It all comes down to who holds the purse strings.

▪ She keeps tight control over the purse strings.

purse ²

purse² v [T]

if you purse your lips, you bring them together tightly into a small circle, especially to show disapproval or doubt

▪ Mrs Biddell pursed her lips and shook her head.