for (all) practical purposes

idiom

—used to say that one thing has the same effect or result as something else

His effort to hide the document was, for practical purposes, an admission that he had made a mistake.

During the blizzard, the town was, for all practical purposes, shut down.

Examples of for (all) practical purposes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The spherical shell known as the Oort Cloud is, for all practical purposes, invisible. —

James Wray, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024 Since there is no repository on the horizon, the 1976 law, for all practical purposes, amounts to a moratorium on new nuclear facilities in California. —

Rob Nikolewski, The Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2024 If this doesn’t work, for all practical purposes, this is the end of the dream. —

Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 11 Aug. 2024 The bureaucratic culture stifles creativity, which explains why more than a few secretaries of state have, for all practical purposes, walled themselves off from the professionals in the department. —

Robert M. Gates, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2020 See all Example Sentences for for (all) practical purposes

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'for (all) practical purposes.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near for (all) practical purposes

for all one knows

for (all) practical purposes

for all (someone) cares

See More Nearby Entries

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“For (all) practical purposes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for%20%28all%29%20practical%20purposes. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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