all-purpose

adjective

all-pur·​pose ˈȯl-ˈpər-pəs 

: suited for many purposes or uses

Synonyms of all-purpose

• unlimited
• general
• general-purpose

Examples of all-purpose in a Sentence

there's nothing wrong with all-purpose flour for baking bread, but flour with more gluten is better

Recent Examples on the Web

Since Barkley entered the NFL in 2018, the only two players who have more all-purpose yards are Derrick Henry and McCaffrey. —Zach Berman, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026

Here's what to know about all-purpose flour and cake flour. —Zoe Denenberg, Southern Living, 11 Jan. 2026

First-team selections for the 49ers were running back Christian McCaffrey as an all-purpose back and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. —Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 11 Jan. 2026

Give the filmmakers props for shooting much of this in-camera rather than CGI, and also for the realistic grisly performance of the actor in the all-purpose monkey suit, Miguel Torres Umba. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for all-purpose

• multipurpose
• purpose

Kids Definition

all-purpose

adjective

all-pur·​pose

-ˈpər-pəs

: suitable for many uses

an all-purpose tool