Related Searches
Nearby Words
noun
2.
an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.
3.
determination; resoluteness.
4.
the subject in hand; the point at issue.
5.
practical result, effect, or advantage: to act to good purpose.
verb (used with object)
6.
to set as an aim, intention, or goal for oneself.
7.
to intend; design.
8.
to resolve (to do something): He purposed to change his way of life radically.
00:10
00:09
00:08
00:07
00:06
00:05
00:04
00:03
00:02
00:01
On purpose
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
verb (used without object)
Idioms9.
to have a purpose.
10.
on purpose, by design; intentionally: How could you do such a thing on purpose?
11.
to the purpose, relevant; to the point: Her objections were not to the purpose.
Origin:
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English purpos < Old French, derivative of purposer, variant of proposer to propose; (v.) Middle English purposen < Anglo-French, Old French purposer
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English purpos < Old French, derivative of purposer, variant of proposer to propose; (v.) Middle English purposen < Anglo-French, Old French purposer
Related forms
pre·pur·pose, verb (used with object), pre·pur·posed, pre·pur·pos·ing.
re·pur·pose, verb (used with object), re·pur·posed, re·pur·pos·ing.
un·pur·posed, adjective
un·pur·pos·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To on purpose
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
on purpose
-
Deliberately, intentionally, as in He left the photo out of the story on purpose. Shakespeare's use of this idiom was among the earliest; it appears in The Comedy of Errors (4:3): "On purpose shut the doors against his way."
-
accidentally on purpose. Seemingly accidentally but actually deliberately, as in She stepped on his foot accidentally on purpose. This generally jocular phrase was first recorded in 1862.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
