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purpose

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noun British English pronunciation: purpose /ˈpɜː(r)pəs/ 
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singularpurpose
pluralpurposes
  1. 1
    [countable] the aim that someone wants to achieve, or that something is intended to achieve

    I use my boat mainly for leisure purposes.

    purpose of:

    The purpose of this dictionary is to help students of English.

    the purpose of doing something:

    The President’s trip will have the purpose of negotiating a peace deal.

    for the purpose of doing something:

    He went there for the purpose of making business contacts.

    someone’s purpose in doing something:

    Her sole purpose in being here was to kill some time.

    suit someone’s purpose:

    You must decide which method suits your purpose best.

    serve a purpose (=achieve an aim):

    Another meeting would serve absolutely no purpose.

    defeat the purpose of something (=make it impossible to achieve the aim that you want to achieve):

    Exercising for too long defeats the purpose of doing exercise in the first place.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  purposeThesaurus entry for this meaning of purpose
  2. 2
    [uncountable] an aim or meaning in your life because there is something that you want to achieve

    Now his life lacks purpose.

    a sense of purpose:

    The course gave her a new sense of purpose.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  purposeThesaurus entry for this meaning of purpose

phrases

This is the British English definition of purpose. View American English definition of purpose.

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