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purpose meaning

EN[ˈpɝpəs]
US
  • NounPLpurposesSUF-ose
    1. An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
      1. 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.
    2. A result that is desired; an intention.
      1. The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
        1. The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
          1. The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
            1. The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy.
          2. OBS Instance; example.
          3. VerbSGpurposesPRpurposingPT, PPpurposed
            1. VT Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
              1. VT (passive) Designed for some purpose.
                1. OBS VI To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
                2. More Examples
                  1. Used in the Middle of Sentence
                    • The purpose of the tramper is to pack the lint into the press box under the restraining dogs near the top end of the press box.
                    • She had a clipped assurance of manner, a purpose in her step, which seemed to announce to anyone who cared to look that she had reached a decision, and reached it even-mindedly.
                    • As in Emily Dickinson there is too a fastidious precision of thought where unrhymes fill the purpose better than rhymes
                  2. Used in the Ending of Sentence
                    • This is the first time a multitransitional study of spectrally resolved rotational ammonia lines has been used for this purpose.
                    • The underspecification of the project led to the development of software that was not fit for purpose.
                    • ...and no man ever knew him intimately who did not recognize and admire his great abilities, both natural and acquired, his large-heartedness and sincerity of purpose.

                Meaning of purpose for the defined word.

                Grammatically, this word "purpose" is a noun, more specifically, a countable noun. It's also a verb, more specifically, an intransitive verb and a transitive verb.
                • Part-of-Speech Hierarchy
                  1. Nouns
                    • Countable nouns
                    • Verbs
                      • Intransitive verbs
                        • Transitive verbs
                      Difficultness: Level 1
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                      Easy     ➨     Difficult
                      Definiteness: Level 9
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                      Definite    ➨     Versatile
                      Related Links:
                      1. en purposes
                      2. en purposely
                      3. en purposed
                      4. en purposeless
                      5. en purposeful
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