What does purpose mean?
Definitions for purpose
ˈpɜr pəspur·pose
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word purpose.
Princeton's WordNet
purpose, intent, intention, aim, designnoun
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
"his intent was to provide a new translation"; "good intentions are not enough"; "it was created with the conscious aim of answering immediate needs"; "he made no secret of his designs"
function, purpose, role, usenoun
what something is used for
"the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?"
determination, purposeverb
the quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose
"his determination showed in his every movement"; "he is a man of purpose"
aim, purpose, purport, proposeverb
propose or intend
"I aim to arrive at noon"
purpose, resolveverb
reach a decision
"he resolved never to drink again"
Webster Dictionary
Purposenoun
that which a person sets before himself as an object to be reached or accomplished; the end or aim to which the view is directed in any plan, measure, or exertion; view; aim; design; intention; plan
Etymology: [OF. purposer, proposer. See Propose.]
Purposenoun
proposal to another; discourse
Etymology: [OF. purposer, proposer. See Propose.]
Purposenoun
instance; example
Etymology: [OF. purposer, proposer. See Propose.]
Purposeverb
to set forth; to bring forward
Etymology: [OF. purposer, proposer. See Propose.]
Purposeverb
to propose, as an aim, to one's self; to determine upon, as some end or object to be accomplished; to intend; to design; to resolve; -- often followed by an infinitive or dependent clause
Etymology: [OF. purposer, proposer. See Propose.]
Purposeverb
to have a purpose or intention; to discourse
Etymology: [OF. purposer, proposer. See Propose.]
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Purpose
pur′pos, n. idea or aim kept before the mind as the end of effort: aim, intention: effect: (Spens.) conversation: (pl.) a sort of conversational game.—Of, or On, purpose, with design, intentionally; To the purpose, to the point, or material to the question. [O. Fr. pourpos, propos—L. propositum, a thing intended—pro, forward, ponĕre, positum, to place.]
Purpose
pur′pos, v.t. to intend (often followed by an infinitive or participial clause as its object).—v.i. to have an intention: (Spens.) to discourse.—adj. Pur′poseful, having an object: full of meaning.—adv. Pur′posefully.—n. Pur′posefulness.—adj. Pur′poseless, without purpose or effect: aimless.—adv. Pur′poselessly.—n. Pur′poselessness.—adj. Pur′pose-like, having a definite purpose: having the appearance of being fit for a purpose.—adv. Pur′posely, with purpose: intentionally.—n. Pur′poser.—adj. Pur′posive, having an aim: (biol.) functional.—n. Pur′posiveness. [O. Fr. purposer, form of proposer, influenced by Fr. propos.]
Editors Contribution
purpose
A reason to exist.
We all require a sense of purpose to focus on daily and to motivate our actions.
Submitted by MaryC on August 25, 2020purpose
An accurate and specific vision, strategy, goal, objective, plan or budget we choose.
The company was fit for purpose and all worked in harmony with each other to achieve.
Submitted by MaryC on January 26, 2020
Suggested Resources
purpose
Song lyrics by purpose -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by purpose on the Lyrics.com website.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'purpose' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1082
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'purpose' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1509
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'purpose' in Nouns Frequency: #264
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of purpose in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of purpose in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2
Examples of purpose in a Sentence
Even when you're mad at him for doing something stupid, he'll say something so dumb that you think he probably does it on purpose, where you're just like how could you even be mad at him.
There still are problems with the network...We are still not where we need to be, the primary purpose of this is a commitment to building a world class network in India.
What is our Purpose of Life on earth? Why this Life? Why this birth? We must find out why we are born... And achieve our Purpose before death blows its horn.
You have a dream. You want to live that dream everyday. Start from where you are. The goal looks far far away. Start anyway. Take baby steps. It is super hard. Keep going. The process is super painful. Initial results are not what you desired or deserve. Still keep going. Inner voice says quit now, this is not going anywhere. Still keep going anyway. Trust your purpose and process. Consistency and hard work brings better results. Other challenges of life also play their parts. Still keep going. You see tiny success in your path. Celebrate and be grateful for each success. Other opportunities start showing up in your journey. Keep learning throughout the process. Keep growing. Have faith. Dreams will come true. Real purpose will prevail.
(My Article Of Faith) This is my strongly held belief. I'm not here on earth coincidentally or by chance. Rather, I'm here on earth for a divine predetermined purpose or mission i.e. to fulfill my God-given uncommon destiny. Guess what? I cannot and will not fulfill my destiny miserably NO not at all. Instead, I can and will surely fulfill my God-given destiny in a grand style. Oh! Yes, I can and I will do just that even against all odds. That's just my own article of faith. I don't know about yours. -Emeasoba George
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for purpose
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- نيّة, سبب, هدف, غرArabic
- ниәтBashkir
- úmysl, účel, cílCzech
- mening, intention, mål, grund, formålDanish
- Zweck, Absicht, Intention, Grund, beabsichtigen, Ziel, Thema, planenGerman
- σκοπός, σκοπεύω, πρόθεση, στόχος, λόγος, αιτίαGreek
- objeto, determinación, intención, propósito, objetivo, tema, razón, resolución, decisión, proponerseSpanish
- هدفPersian
- tarkoitusFinnish
- ætlaFaroese
- but, sujet, intention, objectifFrench
- cuspóirIrish
- rùnScottish Gaelic
- מטרה, סיבה, כוונה, נחישותHebrew
- उद्देHindi
- szándék, céljaHungarian
- tujuanIndonesian
- ætlaIcelandic
- soggetto, intenzione, proposito, argomento, scopoItalian
- מטרהHebrew
- 目的Japanese
- 목적Korean
- propositumLatin
- vastberadenheid, van plan zijn, nut, doel, bedoeling, intentie, reden, strekking, opzet, zinDutch
- mål, hensiktNorwegian
- temat, intencja, zagadnienie, cel, powód, zamiar, cel, powódPolish
- objetivo, propósito, intençãoPortuguese
- determinare, subiect, scop, rost, țintă, cauză, motiv, țel, obiectiv, temăRomanian
- цель, причинаRussian
- namjera, svrha, ciljSerbo-Croatian
- avsikt, syfteSwedish
- நோக்கம்Tamil
- วัตถุประสงค์Thai
- amaçTurkish
- метаUkrainian
- مقصدUrdu
- mục đíchVietnamese
- צילYiddish
- 目的Chinese
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"purpose." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. Web. 28 May 2022. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/purpose>.
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