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purpose
n  ---------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: ---------[Date: 1200-1300; Language: 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 [C] 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 ▼ Từ liên quan / Related words
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